Swordsman of the Leaf: Bloodstained Hurricane
by bathedinblood
Summary: When Naruto is confronted by his inner demon, it isn't the fox he presumed it to be. The legendary demon is more than an animal, and it has powerful friends to assist it. Watch as Naruto picks up his own blades, and cuts a path to his destiny. Violent M.
1. New Beginnings

Here is the first chapter for my new story, **Swordsman of the Leaf: Bloodstained Hurricane!** Please note, I don't own Naruto, Soul Calibur, or any other franchise mentioned in this tale. I just own the story and my original characters.

* * *

**Chapter 1: New Beginnings**

In legends all over the world, in hushed whispers and written on ancient tomes, there is a tale of a tower, made of black rock and several stories high, that rises from the ground. Officials from every nation deny its existence, yet there have been countless thousands that search for this famed structure, and its two powerful treasures: the Soul Calibur and the Soul Edge. These two swords, each five feet in length, hold the power of good and evil, each one as powerful as its counterpart. The two act as a balance for the world, preventing the sides of good and evil from teetering off into either direction. Any who possesses these two eternal blades would wield the power to destroy the world a hundred times over, or recreate it in all of its original glory. These blades had been coveted by warriors and leaders for centuries, their seductive power too much for any to resist. Over countless millenia, warriors had stormed the tower en masse, each one vying for the power of the Soul Blades.

Our story begins at the conclusion of one such cataclysmic struggle. Clouds darkened the sky over the large, weathered tower. Despite the many craters and holes that littered its base and passageways, the might structure stood tall. At the top of the stone building was a circular dais, decorated and constructed by a civilization long passed from the world, where a battle was taking place.

A woman clad in a black battle kimono stood on one end of the circular arena, panting heavily. Her kimono was decorated with orange flames, and a red sash was tied around her waist. Her legs were bare, the smooth, tanned skin covering layered muscles, strengthened by training to the point of bursting, yet still retaining their feminine form. She wore shinobi sandals, the tops of her feet shielded with bronze plates. In her hands, tip stuck in the ground behind her, was a massive cleaver. The blade was matte black, and it curved slightly from hilt to tip. The hilt itself was wrapped in polished black tape, to allow for a comfortable yet strong grip. Around her neck was a necklace, and a gold fox charm hung down just above her above-average breasts. Atop her head were two red fox ears, the insides black as night. From under her kimono sprouted a blood red fox tail, the same shade as her hair. Her eyes blazed blood red, and her pupils were slitted. Her face was contorted in a snarl of rage, one that any mortal would quail under. She was Kamikirimusi, the most powerful fox demon on Earth or Hell. And she was pissed.

Her opponent, however, was no mere mortal himself. Standing opposite of this fierce female was a suit of medieval blue armor. Red eyes gleamed from beneath the helm, and a ghostly fire seemed to move the armor around. Dark skin could be seen under the armor, flawed by orange veins. The torso was seperated from the waist, and an unholy purple ball in the center exuded the flames that held the infernal being together. The greaves were spiked at the knees, and the feet were not those of a human, but rather appeared to be talons. Grasped in the blue monstrosity's left hand was a large, red sword, brimming with power. An eye sat just above the handguard, watching Kamikirimusi with savage glee. The blade was at least six feet long, and looked too heavy for any normal man to use. The infernal incarnation's right hand was a mutated vice, three claws jutting out from extremely long fingers. One's entire upper body could be encased by such a grip. The being chuckled darkly as Kamikirimusi finally caught her breath. He was the Azure Knight of the Soul Edge. He was Nightmare.

**"So this is how it all ends: the two of us, greatest of the warriors, vying for the two swords. How interesting."** Nightmare stood up straight from his stooped posture and brought his massive sword up to his shoulder. The eye on his blade watched Kamikirimusi warily, its gaze never leaving her even as it was being waved through the air. The red-headed demon just kept glaring at him. The Azure Knight chuckled again.

**"Do you really think you can beat me, Kyuubi no Kitsune? With that puny kitchen knife of yours? Don't make me laugh."** Ironically, he ended the statement with a sinister chuckle. Somewhere in the very back of Kamikirimusi's mind, she wondered when Nightmare had ever been in a kitchen to recognize a kitchen knife. But that little doubt stayed in the back of her mind, and she put one hand on the pommel of her sword. She had slain far too many honorable, misguided warriors in an attempt to destroy the Soul Edge. To back down would not only insult her personally, but also render their sacrifices meaningless.

"What in the hell do you think I came up here for, Nightmare?" she demanded angrily. She had carried a personal vendetta against the blade for many an age, ever since it had tried to corrupt one of her dearest friends.

Nightmare scratched at the chin of his helmet with his large claw in a mock thinking position, then shrugged. It only increased her fury. She snarled, baring gleaming fangs sharp enough to tear through flesh and muscle.

"I climbed this fucking tower just to get the satisfaction of using that armor of yours as my personal trash can!" She swung her cleaver horizontally, holding it parallel with the ground in one hand. She leapt into the air and swung the sword downward, applying both hands for optimal force.

"NOW DIE!"

Nightmare brought Soul Edge up just in time to block the strike, and a shock wave swept out from where the two swords connected in a huge clash of power. Kamikirimusi jumped back and dashed sideways, hoping to catch her opponent off guard. She swiped her cleaver toward his side, but was blocked by his large hand. Nightmare brought Soul Edge around to slash at her, but the demoness blocked it with the flat of her blade. Now face to face, the two began to trade blows with increasing speed. Soon, their motions were only a blur as they hacked furiously at each other, yet neither fighter suffered damage. The surrounding area, however, quickly became marred by craters and fissures created by powerful blows being blocked or diverted. Kamikirimusi slashed upward inside of Nightmare's guard, forcing the Azure Knight to retreat backwards slightly. She jumped into the air directly over Nightmare, then twirled her sword to where the point was facing downward. She then put a tremendous amount of strength into the downward stab and came down on Nightmare.

The Azure Knight knew that there was too much force behind the blow to block it, and tried to sidestep. Big mistake. His left arm – the one wielding Soul Edge – was impaled and stuck to the ground, dragging the possessed armor down with it and immobilizing him. He cried out in pain as the sword pierced the arm, and black blood poured from the wound.

Kamikirimusi slid down the blade, careful to avoid the razor sharp edge, and cocked her arm back. Nightmare saw a flash of claws, then the next thing to go through his mind was Kamikirimusi's fist. The red-haired demon impaled Nightmare's helmet with her claws, driving her arm all the way through his head. A black smoke and flecks of fire burst from the wound, and an unearthly screech rang out from the suit of armor, like the demons of Hell damning all of existence in one fell shriek. Nightmare gurgled and struggled weakly, but then went slack on Kamikirimusi's arm. The fire that made up his body extinguished, and a suit of armor was all that remained.

The eye affixed to Soul Edge widened in rage, indignant in its defeat, but slowly began to close as its host died. When the eye was completely closed, the sword fell to the ground, dropped from Nightmare's lifeless gauntlet with a clang.

Kamikirimusi yanked her arm free of the helm, hissing in pain as she did so. The armor of the helm tore her arm up, causing warm blood to cascade down in red streams. Kamikirimusi watched with disinterest as the wounds healed quickly, sizzling as the flesh mended. Unfortunately, what she didn't watch was where she moved her arm.

The limb passed right over the Soul Edge, and a single drop of blood – demon blood – splattered onto the flat of the blade, just above the eye. Then the shit hit the fan.

The eye snapped open, and a red aura exuded from the blade, as if it had been possessed by some otherworldly spirit. Kamikirimusi looked down in alarm, her eyes wide with surprise. She yanked her cleaver out of the ground and jumped back, away from the corpse and evil blade. She waved her hand behind her, and a black portal appeared. She turned to jump through it, and in that split-second, took her eyes off of the glowing sword. It was a mistake that would haunt her for a very long time.

The blade spun in mid air and pointed the tip at the retreating fox demon like a gun. A beam of golden light ran down the length of the blade, then shot off straight toward the Kyuubi in the form of a glowing yellow ball of energy. _Tzzaap!_

Kamikirimusi turned at the noise and caught the projectile energy right in the forehead, the force of the blow carrying her through the portal. The portal closed, and Nightmare's foul blade fell to the ground once more. But if one strained itself, they could just barely here the evil cackling of a crazed spirit locked away within the blade.

* * *

(Kamikirimusi's territory, also know as 'Fire Country')

In the middle of a small meadow, a black portal appeared. The portal fluctuated dangerously, then unceremoniously dumped a glowing Kamikirimusi onto the ground and vanished in a swirl of smoke. The Kyuubi clutched her sword tightly, but her left hand was clenched against her forehead. When she opened her eyes with a pained cry, orange light poured out from within. She rolled over onto her hands and knees and cried out in pain. It felt as if someone had set her brain on fire, and the burning agony shot through her system repeatedly. She arched backwards and screamed. The energy coursed through her brain, poking and prodding until it find exactly what it was looking for: her rage. The demon woman screamed again, this time not in pain, but in absolute fury. The orange glow that permeated her eyes changed to a deep red.

_Burn, slaughter, maim, kill!_

She was instantly and insanely enraged. And when the Kyuubi no Kitsune was crazy mad, a lot of things died. _A lot._ The demoness' thought processes simplified into the most efficient way to slaughter. She couldn't kill many things with her sword. The cleaver disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Kamikirimusi hunched over.

Crimson fur began to grow all over her body, matching her hair, ears, and tail. A tide of blood red fur sprouted all over her, cloaking her in a red haze of bristling hairs. The single tail split into nine swaying tails, and her body began to undergo rapid changes. She grew in size, and her energy multiplied a thousand-fold. Soon, the clearing was no longer big enough, and the trees began to fall under the mass of the red form. Crashes and splintering sounds filled the forest, then all was silent. Suddenly, and ear-slitting roar echoed all across the lands, and many animals ran for shelter. The Kyuubi no Kitsune was back, and it was angry. The maddened vixen sniffed hungrily, searching for a large source of prey. She caught a whiff almost instantly : humans. Normally, Kamikirimusi would never harm a human without due cause. But the mysterious energy injected into her by Soul Edge clouded her reasoning, and humans were just another meal. Following the scent, Kamikirimusi turned south and galloped through the forest. And the crisp October night was filled with screams, roars, explosions, and the sound of an orphaned baby crying in pain.

* * *

(Thirteen years later, Konohagakure)

"Come back here with that ramen, Naruto! You haven't paid yet!"

The busy streets of Konoha parted as a blonde boy with whiskers, shining blue eyes, and an obsession for the color orange zipped through the crowds, chowing down on a miraculously stable bowl of ramen as he did so. Tuechi Ichiraku panted and put his hands on his knees, the soup ladle in his hands pressing against his calf. The middle-aged man watched as his favorite customer ran off with yet another 'free' bowl of ramen, the third today. It was no secret that Naruto was shortchanged on his mission pay, and prices strangely inflated whenever he entered a store. If he was out of money, the Ichirakus would feed him anyway. The old man and his daughter had assured Naruto of this several times, often more than once a day. But Naruto was too prideful to admit defeat and ask for handouts, so he snuck the food out. The old man waved a hand dismissively and turned back to return to his ramen stand where his daughter, Ayame, was waiting. She frowned when her father came back empty handed, but lectured him instead of offering assistance.

"You know, Father, you can never catch him. Even if he wasn't a shinobi, that boy could outrun anyone in this village any day of the week." She scolded, and her father looked down in shame. Tuechi mumbled a weak excuse, then trudged toward her. The two ramen cooks went back into the stand, and continued taking and filling orders from their hungry customers.

Neither knew that the very blonde they had chased off was slurping happily just above their heads, sitting on the roof of the stand. Naruto Uzumaki sucked the last of the noodles down and brought the bowl to his lips, drinking down the delicious broth. He drained the last of the delicious liquid and belched loudly, then sat back and rubbed his belly. A warm, tingling sensation pooled in his belly, and he sighed in contentment.

"No matter how many bowls I eat, there will always be room for more ramen!" He declared to himself. Setting the chopsticks and empty bowl aside, Naruto stood up and looked around at the densely populated streets of Konoha. All over the street, people hustled and bustled from stores and food stands, purchasing and haggling over prices. These were his people, his fellow villagers. One day, he would wear the red and white hat of the Hokage, and all of these people would look at him with respect and awe.

"Hey, there's the demon brat!"

"Let's get him!"

Unfortunately, that day was a little far off. Naruto stepped back a little and barely dodged a rock meant for his face. He cried out in alarm at the narrow miss and jumped off of the stand, leaping from rooftop to rooftop to reach his apartment. The angry villagers laughed at his retreat, but their cruel laughter turned to mutterings of puzzlement as they were denied service from Ichiraku Ramen. The three men that had thrown rocks grumbled about 'demon lovers' and walked off to get food somewhere else.

* * *

(Later that night, Naruto's apartment)

Naruto sat in his kitchen and stared at the Team 7 picture mounted on his wall. He had several copies hung up around his house, so he would always be reminded that no matter what, he had a team to look out for him. He found pictures to be very permanent things, as they advertised to everyone who entered his home that something was that special to him. So far, only the Team 7 picture adorned his walls, and he planned to keep it that way. He had no other precious people besides the Ichirakus, old man Hokage, and Iruka, and he had no pictures with them. So, only the Team 7 group photo hung on his wall.

Tired from the day's mischief, Naruto yawned and stretched his arms. Tomorrow was another day, filled with egging on Sasuke, flirting with Sakura, and attempting to steal Kakashi's ever-present Icha Icha Paradise. He brushed his teeth, used the bathroom, threw away his empty ramen cup, then dove into the bed. He reached over his stuffed Kakashi doll (I've seen it! It is there!) and turned the light off. He was asleep within minutes, although his dream took on a different vista than usual.

* * *

(In Naruto's dream/mindscape)

Naruto glanced around his surroundings in confusion. Normally, there would be a dream about giant pools filled with ramen, or a forest made of dango, or something food related. Instead of some cuisine-based utopia, he found himself standing in a dim hallway, water standing up to his ankles. The jinchuriki looked down in wonder and tested the water. He could feel it on his feet, but when he bent down to touch it, his hand came away dry. Weird. He looked up to find many pipes lining the ceiling; some dripping, most not.

Naruto looked down the corridor at the several entranceways that lined the walls. He picked one at random, and was soon covered in darkness as he tread away from the light. He walked for a few seconds in complete darkness, until he saw a light up ahead. He jogged ahead, and came out into a large room. And by large, I mean 'holy shit that ceiling's taller than the Hokage monument!' large. He stared up in wonder, and finally his mouth caught up with his (rather elusive) brain.

"What is this place?" he asked out loud. And wouldn't you know it, the ginormous room wasn't empty after all.

"Depends on who you're asking." A confident, feminine voice called out ahead of him, and he looked toward its source. At the very far wall of the large chamber, some bronze bars a little taller than Kakashi were built into the wall. They had no hinges, no visible means of opening them. Stuck to the middle of the bars was a piece of paper with kanji written on it. In Naruto's 'Great Academy Escapades', he never really picked up the formal language. But the voice had originated from there, so naturally he ambled over to it.

When he reached the cell, he tried talking again.

"Who's in there?" he asked intelligently. (read: crossed fingers)

"Me," the voice replied. Naruto's deadpan look seemed to amuse the occupant, because he heard the girl's giggle echo from behind the bars. He almost fainted when a rather attractive woman came to the bars. She had crimson red hair, with two braided strands of hair coming down the left side of her face. Her eyes were also red, and they seemed to glow with hidden power. The slit pupils never left his deep blue orbs, but he did take in her appearance. She was clothed in a black battle kimono that ended just a few inches above the knee, daring him to stare for too long. A red sash was tied around her waist, black flames dancing across it in an odd pattern. Her above average bust kept his attention for a full second, but he knew what would happen if he stared too long. She wore standard shinobi sandals with red bronze plates attached to protect her feet. All in all, she was a very beautiful woman. And then he saw the _extra_ appendages.

On top of her head sat two triangles of fur, with black lining the insides. Her normal human ears were absent, and Naruto almost stared a little too long. But movement in the lower part of his vision caught his eye, and he glanced downward and nearly gasped. Sprouting from underneath her kimono was a crimson fox tail, roughly four feet long. And it was curled around the biggest sword he had ever seen. He followed the length of the tail all the way up to where it connected to the rest of the woman and stared a little too long at the slightly raised kimono. He heard fingers snap, and he looked up to find the woman smirking at him.

"Aren't you a little young to be looking at a grown woman's butt?" she asked sweetly. Naruto's face went beet red, and he turned and coughed to hide his embarrassment. The woman giggled again, and this time it was pleasant to Naruto's ears. He controlled his blush and turned back to face the mysterious woman, and finally found his voice.

"Who are you? Where am I? What's up with those ears? Where did all the ramen go?" He asked quickly, before she could answer. She looked at him with an annoyed expression, and he smiled meekly. She cleared her throat and tried to clear up his confusion, though she knew he would just ask more questions.

"Well, first off," the woman began, "my name is Kamikirimusi. You can call me Kiri, though. Next, you are inside your own mind. I know that's a little hard to grasp, but try to understand." His dazed expression told her he didn't get it, and she frowned. She continued anyway.

"The ears are just a part of who I am, and no, you can't pet them." Naruto's dazed expression went to one of sadness, then to the infamous 'Puppy Dog Eyes no Jutsu'. But his pitiful expression held no sway with Kiri, and he finally gave up with a 'you suck'.

"Lastly, your normal dream of ramen and dango has driven me to near insanity, so I decided to stop it. And with no dream, you came here." Her voice took on a hard edge at the mention of his dream, but soon she sounded less likely to kill him again. He opened his mouth to ask another inevitable question, but she reached toward her sword in warning. He clamped his mouth shut, the fact that she was behind bars not even registering in his head. He stared at the slaughterous blade in half horror, half fascination. Ever since he had seen Zabuza Momochi throw his giant blade around like a feather, he'd always harbored a fantasy that he, Naruto Uzumaki, would someday run around crushing enemies with a big ass sword. Of course, in that fantasy he was roughly six foot tall, and actually possessed a big ass sword to crush people with.

Kiri couldn't believe it. Out of all the things he stared at, the thing that held his gaze the longest was her cleaver. Granted, it was a BFS, (Big Fucking Sword, as the blade category shall be called for the rest of the story.) but there wasn't much special about it. Giant black sword that weighed a ton and was a pain in the ass to carry around and maintain, but it was her weapon. She had killed countless enemies with it, but she still treated it like her favorite toy. She had seen Zabuza's shoddy swordsmanship, and if that was his only encounter...she shivered at the prospects of such a misguided inspiration.

Naruto stepped back a little bit, now fully aware of the range of that giant cleaver. He pointed at the sword and asked enthusiastically, "Can you teach me how to use that?"

Kiri looked down at her large sword and back at the blonde boy bouncing up and down with excitement. _He hasn't even realized I'm the fox,_ she thought, _and he's begging me to show him swordsmanship? I knew I got sealed into a crazy kid, but..._

The red head smirked, then put on a mock inquisitive tone.

"But what would I gain from teaching you my style? I mean, I'm in here, and you are out there..."

She let the _very_ thinly veiled hint sit for a moment, watching the blonde ninja for a reaction. Instead of answering outright, he examined the paper that held her prison closed. He reached out to touch the damp parchment, and he lightly tapped it with his index finger. As his finger brushed the paper, a stroke of ink blurred and smeared slightly. He snatched his hand back, frightened. As if in response to the tag's adjustment, an echoing groan passed through the entire chamber. One of the golden columns to his right began to shake and tremor. To his immense surprise, the huge bar just pitched forward and shattered, sending shards of debris everywhere.

Naruto's wide eyes went from the marred paper, to the fallen column, then back to Kiri. She shrugged, but stayed put. He reached up even higher to rip off the paper, but something stopped him. Did he trust this woman? How was he to know that she wouldn't cut him down as soon as she was freed. She was obviously sealed for a reason. Before he could ask her intentions, however, the chamber was gone.

* * *

Naruto sat up quickly, then groaned as the sun's bright light stabbed into his eyes. He rubbed the abused sensory organs and got up lazily, his frog pajamas twisted from rolling around. He yawned groggily and trudged to the bathroom, his dream hidden behind the haze of drowsiness. He picked up his toothbrush and squeezed some toothpaste onto it, then looked into the mirror and froze.

Standing behind him in the mirror, her eyes twinkling with amusement, was Kamikirimusi. She waved and smiled, prompting him to wave back. He glanced over his shoulder, but found only the empty bedroom behind him. When he turned back however, Kiri was still there. It was odd, because even though he only saw her in the mirror, he could sense her presence. And when she faded out of sight, the tired blonde sat perfectly still for a moment.

He stood motionless for what seemed like hours, then went back to brushing his teeth.


	2. Search for a Sensei

Wow. I got four reviews in as many hours, when my other stories didn't do near as well. This is now my primary story. Thanks to the guys who reviewed, I treasure constructive criticism. Anyway, I thought this would be a good time to mention that there will be two, not one, original characters in this story. Ever since I wrote the first chapter, I've been battling my way up and down the Tower of Lost Souls with two original characters, and they are just too good to separate. Descriptions and how to create them will appear as needed. Alright, let's get this on the road.

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**Chapter 2: Search for a Sensei**

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"I don't care how pretty your please is, I'm not teaching you the Chidori, Naruto."

Team 7 usually found humor in watching Naruto begging his jounin sensei for more powerful techniques. That is, Sasuke and Sakura did. Kakashi found it downright annoying, and Naruto really wanted a powerful jutsu.

The three genin and their book-reading sensei found themselves just outside of the Hokage's main office. Right when Kakashi announced that he would try for a B-rank, Naruto started pestering him for a powerful technique. Kakashi just opened the door with an exasperated sigh and walked in to the office. Naruto followed right on his heels, still begging for a super jutsu, while Sasuke and Sakura followed close behind.

An old man in red and white robes looked up, and one could tell he was _old._ His skin, though tan, was marred by wrinkles, scars, and crow's feet. He had a goatee that was such a light shade of gray that many just called it white. His gray eyes portrayed an old man's gaze, one burdened with too many things in life.

Despite how depressed the old geezer looked, his countenance brightened when he saw Naruto.

"Naruto, are you badgering Kakashi about another jutsu again?" the old man asked with a grin.

Naruto turned and blew a raspberry, not at the old man, but just at the general situation.

"Yeah, and he won't even teach me that cool Chidori. What gives, old man?"

To most, this would be outright folly, because the man that both author and genin had been referring to as 'old man' was actually the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. But Naruto was a special case, a person cared for at a personal level by the elderly Hokage. And I'm the author, bitch.

Sarutobi looked down at his mission requests with a small grin, his pipe clenched in his teeth. He scanned his list, searching for a mission suited to Team 7's style. With Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke heavy hitters, a tracking or stealth mission wouldn't be wise. Escort missions and bandit camps were really their forte. His eyebrows rose when he found an escort mission that he knew Naruto would love.

"You genin run along and train, Kakashi and I have something to discuss." The old man said.

Normally, this would get a rise out of Naruto, but he was busy staring at a picture on the wall. It was the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash of Konoha. Naruto had barely paid attention in the Academy, but he could recite all kinds of facts about the Fourth. The blonde Hokage was Naruto's hero, and a great motivator in bleak times.

He was brought out of his fan-fueled thoughts by a smack upside the head, courtesy of Sasuke. He rubbed his head and groaned, then walked out behind Sasuke and his pink-haired cheerleader.

As his team of students walked out, the Copy Ninja turned back to his superior with his visible eyebrow raised. Sarutobi chuckled wryly and held up a mission report.

"I'll let you read it later, but this little B-rank will delve into your past a bit, Kakashi. You recall that last foray into Snow Country?"

Kakashi nodded, and thought back to that mission. He had been a newly minted jounin back then, and his opponents were a little too skilled for him. He had fled, with the Snow Lord's young daughter hidden in his sled.

"Your mission is to transport Princess Yuki back to her homeland. She doesn't know about the true mission, and merely thinks she is shooting a movie there. It is Team 7's job to make sure she makes it there safely, and to defend her at most costs."

Kakashi nodded solemnly, although he felt uncomfortable with the job. The last time he had gone to Snow, he had been so soundly defeated by the rebel faction's chakra armor that it was embarrassing. Sure, there was always someone better than you, but when the silver-haired jounin had fled with his proverbial tail between his legs, it was mortifying. So he had to ask.

"Lord Hokage, will..._he_ be there?"

Sarutobi sighed heavily and nodded.

"There is a good chance he will. Dotou wouldn't leave his country after a seizure of that magnitude. Looking at Snow now, it makes me wonder what Mist would be like had Zabuza Momochi succeeded in his endeavors..."

True, it would be different. But Kakashi had beaten Zabuza, and lost miserably to Dotou and his cronies. The power gap was immense, although a swordsman would be skilled against Dotou. Kakashi sighed and pulled his book out. He didn't bother to salute or bow or anything, as Sarutobi was similarly engaged with a small orange novel himself. Slow days led to a lot of free time.

* * *

"Man, this stinks! Why do we have to wait around while Kakashi-sensei gets our mission? We're just going to hear about it anyway!"

The genin portion of Team 7 sat near the North Gate, their packs ready for a week's comfortable journey. They didn't bring anything more than a week's worth because for shinobi, living off the land was pretty easy. If you are more agile than a rabbit, then you are pretty much guaranteed rabbit.

Sasuke saw fit to answer his teammate's question in true Uchiha style.

"Dobe. If there are secrets that should only be revealed to save us, then until we are in such a situation, we don't need to know. Besides, Kakashi won't tell us everything; he never does."

Sakura chose that moment to bust out the proverbial pom poms and declare Sasuke's superiority over Naruto.

_Why does she always take his side? I mean..._ Naruto would have continued his mental grumbling, but all of a sudden, he felt drowsy. He instantly felt like he hadn't slept in three days. He stumbled over to the wall and sat down heavily. His eyelids drooped, and he could barely talk.

"I'm gonna take a nap, you guys wake me up...when..." the blonde genin was out before he finished his sentence.

* * *

(Mindscape)

"Why am I down here again?"

Naruto appeared in front of the slightly less intimidating bars (now that that one on the left was gone) and he wasn't too happy about passing out right before a mission. The crimson-haired woman on the other side of said bars smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I was sitting over next to this wall, and I found a spot where I could barely hear your thoughts," she began. "When I hit it a few times with my sword, you got all sleepy and keeled over."

Naruto wasn't thrilled about having a 'sleep' button in his head, especially with Kiri in there. Now that he thought about it...

"Why are you in my head, anyway? I know I've got the Kyuubi inside me, but I didn't hear anything about a..." he treaded carefully here, as a misplaced adjective could cost him his balls, "_girl_ inside me."

When Kiri didn't reply for a few seconds, things clicked inside his mind. He began to think, something he isn't really known to do. Let's look in on his thought process, eh?

_Strange woman in head..._

_Kyuubi sealed inside me..._

_Woman's origin unknown..._

_Kyuubi not found..._

_CONCLUSION: Kiri is Kyuubi..._

_Initiating 'Freak Out' mode..._

"YOU'RE THE FOX!" he more or less bellowed accusingly, backpedaling like he would if there weren't huge bars between him and the now depressed vixen. She nodded solemnly, but kept her head down. He had been so comfortable with her, up until he realized she was the beast that tore the village apart roughly thirteen years prior. _He's just like all the rest..._

Naruto stopped his stupid attempt to escape and looked back at Kamikirimusi. He saw her drooped ears and tail, and how she kept her head down. He had seen that look once, after a particularly cruel parent chased him off from playing with his friends. He had sat in an alley across from a store, and he had seen his reflection in the store window. The same downcast look, lowered head, and slumped shoulders that he had shown in that point in time were now cast on Kiri, and it made him feel...sad?

Naruto started back toward the cage, and he finally recognized that it was in fact a _cage._ There was no door, window, or any way of entry, and Kiri obviously had something besides size keeping her in there. He trotted all the way up to the bars and knelt down in front of the depressed vixen.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that."

She just kept staring down at the wet floor, and now he felt like crap. He leaned against one of the bars, trying to get level with her. But since she was a foot taller than he was, the attempt left him straining to look her in the eye, yet trying to appear relaxed. His final product was a face full of water right in front of her. He spat out the foul tasting liquid and heard her laugh softly, as if she didn't want to be heard.

The goofy genin tried to sit back up, but was suddenly sucked out of the mindscape, leaving Kiri alone in the dark once more. Her smile faded, and she turned back to the dented wall she had previously tried so hard to break through. To her amazement, the dent was no longer there, but rather a door sat where the portion of wall had been.

She got up hesitantly, as if it would vanish at any moment. She walked over quickly and grabbed the handle, feeling the cold metal in her hand. She turned it slowly, and opened the door. It didn't make a sound, but Kiri was still creeped out. She looked on the other side of the door, and found a large television hanging on a dark wall. It was on, but it just displayed black nothingness. Curious, she closed the door and walked up to the screen. A light emerged at the center, then spread out into a horizontal line that bisected the screen. The light widened, and Kiri could just make out the bright rays of sunlight over a shock of silver hair...

* * *

SMACK!

"OW! What was that for?"

Naruto opened his eyes to find his masked sensei sitting right in front of him.

"I've been trying to wake you up for five minutes, Naruto. We thought you were in a coma."

Naruto rubbed his sore cheek where his teacher had smacked him, then groggily got up and shouldered his pack. When he had passed out, it had just been he and Sasuke and Sakura. Upon his revival, however, it was a different view altogether.

Men ran to and fro, various equipment in their grasp. And aging man with a bullhorn was directing them from a truck, his voice carrying over the din.

"Kimoto, get that camera packed up right! Ichigo, I want the her clothes packed neatly in her quarters when we get to the ship, so don't mess them up! Where in the hell is Sandayuu?" As the elderly man shouted orders, his subordinates scrambled to load a couple of trucks with what looked like movie equipment. Background posters and cameras, boom mikes and lights, everything needed to shoot a major motion picture. Naruto rolled his eyes as Sakura shrieked at someone for stepping on her toe. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"This is a great place to shoot! The movie gods have smiled upon us, boys! Grab the gear and start climbing!"

The ship carrying Team 7 and the movie crew had come dangerously close to finding out why the Titanic wasn't unsinkable. A huge iceberg had unnaturally swerved to hit them as they neared the shore. If it weren't for Kakashi and Sasuke's fire jutsus, the ship would have sunk for sure. As he heaved a heavy pack of film up to the top of the iceberg, Naruto gazed out at the coast of Snow Country, and a conversation with Kamikirimusi came back to him.

* * *

(Flashback)

_"You're going to Snow? Why would you want to go there?"_

_"Believe me, I don't. But we have to protect this stuck up princess actress lady. She's all 'the world hates me, and I hate you', and she can't even cry in the movie. The old dude has to give her eye drops."_

_Naruto sat in between two golden bars in his mindscape, just across from a sparring Kiri. She had decided to go through some katas with her BFS when the blonde jinchuriki had popped up. She swung her large cleaver horizontally, disemboweling an invisible enemy, the continued the swing with a twirl and brought the cleaver into a downward slash that would have cleaved another in half. Even as she swung that huge sword around, she didn't sound out of breath._

_"Remember when you first came down here, and you wanted to learn my sword style?" she asked neutrally._

_Naruto could only nod as she sent a side kick into nothingness, then brought her sword up in a diagonal arc that would behead the enemy as he bent over. She swung the sword back up to her shoulder and looked at him, indicating that she couldn't have seen his nod._

_"Yeah. What about it?"_

_The demoness stabbed her cleaver into the ground and sat down in front of it, using the flat of the blade to prop herself up. Naruto felt mildly uncomfortable as his eyes followed the hem of her kimono that absolutely refused to ride up. If Kiri noticed, she didn't say anything._

_"The last I heard, which was about fifteen years ago, the man who taught me my style was found fighting in a coup d'etat during Snow Country's takeover. Apparently, the Snow Lord and he were good friends."_

_Naruto sat and thought on that one. From what he had seen of Kiri's style through katas and practice, it was a vicious, merciless style that was made to tackle large amounts of enemies, yet ensure each and every one was dead. It was a style for the strong and the merciless. And Naruto had to say, he admired it._

_"If I see him, will you let me know that it's him?"_

_Kiri smirked and patted her sword lovingly._

_"Trust me, kid. If you see him, you'll know it's him. He's almost four hundred years old, but he looks very young. And he carries a massive sword." She placed a hand at the base of her neck. "Like me."_

_Naruto could only nod, as anything else would get her angry at him. Despite the frequent beatings from Sakura, Naruto knew what would offend a woman. And with that, the conversation was closed._

* * *

(Flashback is over, return to your seats)

Naruto stared at the coast, his mind racing at the thought of encountering the master of a style like Kiri's.

_I hope he doesn't want to fight, because I can't heal from being cut in half._

The film crew did their shot, got the valiant footage of the Rainbow Princess arriving in the Land of Snow. But as the camera rolled, Naruto looked over to see Sasuke scanning the immediate area. Naruto looked around, and found what his raven-haired teammate had probably thought as well: Kakashi was missing. Normally this wouldn't faze the genin, but when they were on an important escort mission, the students got uneasy at the disappearance of their sensei. Naruto looked back toward shore, his eyes squinting with effort. He saw white streams going after gray dots while a blue and green dot stood still. Finally, he realized what was happening: Kakashi was throwing water dragons at three other ninja. He cried out in alarm, catching Sasuke's attention.

"Sasuke! Over there!"

Naruto pointed in the direction of the fight, and Sasuke nodded. He turned to his immediate left and told Sakura to guard the crew, then ran toward the edge of the iceberg. Naruto ran right behind him, and together they jumped off the iceberg. They fell for a few seconds, the landed lightly on top of the water, using chakra to stay above the icy surface. They sprinted toward the beach, where Kakashi had just taken a savage bite from a tiger made of snow, only to turn into snow himself.

Naruto steeled himself for the oncoming fight and reached for a kunai.

_It's the same bunch, alright._ Kakashi jumped back at a metal gauntlet slammed into the ground where he had stood moments before. The gauntlet's owner stood fifteen meters away, his arm connected to the metal appendage by a thick cord. Kakashi formed a cross with his fingers, then cried, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In a several puffs of smoke, five replicas of Kakashi appeared. They charged the enemy team, and kept the Snow Ninjas occupied while Kakashi sank into the frozen ground. He would have to be wily with this bunch, or else he would lose to them _again_. And he lose more than honor should he be defeated this time. As he picked up Naruto and Sasuke's chakra signatures, he realized that defeat would mean the deaths of his pupils.

* * *

(Deep in Snow Country, in a house near train tracks that will be mentioned later in the story)

A fire sat crackling in its brick prison, dancing to an unheard song as it cast a warm glow on the room. A red lazy chair sat in front of the fire, and seated in the chair was a man. He had dark brown hair, cut to just an inch from his scalp. He had a beard cut at similar length that ran around his mouth, down his chin, and along his cheekbones. He wore a loose white shirt, cut off at the elbows. He wore a comfortable pair of blue wool pants, perfect for keeping out Snow Country's biting winters.

The man appeared to be asleep, as he didn't move. He hadn't moved for hours, in fact. However, as a distant conflict initiated, he stirred. Something was arousing him from his slumber, something familiar. Something he hadn't felt in nearly twenty years. The man opened his eyes groggily, the yawned. He closed his eyes again, not to sleep, but to concentrate. He could sense a familiar soul nearby, but he couldn't be one hundred percent certain.

Frustrated, the man stood up quickly, his speed defying his still sleepy limbs. He trudged over to a cabinet and opened it. There, nestled in a nest of cloth, and surrounded by cleaning materials, was a sword. It was a unique sword, however. It's finish was matte black, not entirely unusual, but its actual features were out of the ordinary. The blade curved like a normal blade, but the inside of the curve was sharp. Down the outside of the arc, where there would normally be a sharp edge, was a row of vicious looking spikes, black at the base with a yellow ring around each tip. The grip was wrapped in bandages, and the handle was an extension of the titanium alloy that made up the sword. At the pommel of the sword, there was a gem. A beautiful ruby that would normally glow in the firelight. This was Buster, a unique sword that was given from one warrior to another as a token of friendship.

The man smiled as he looked at the ruby, which was shining on its own power. He left the cabinet and went to another, opening it to reveal blood red paladin armor, the likes of which haven't been worn in centuries. He removed his sleepwear and dressed for battle.

The man returned to the sword and picked it up with ease, sliding the six foot long blade into its loop on his back. The now armed man stepped toward the door, but dug into a pocket near his breastplate. He pulled out a picture of three people, all smiling. The backdrop showed a peaceful spring. In the background was Kamikirimusi and the man, smiling at the camera with their swords clashed in mid spar. From one side, apparently the man who took the picture, was a ninja in pure white armor, a mask obscuring his face. But it didn't cover his green and red eyes, unique to him and a distant relative he had loved to talk about. Buster's owner smirked and flipped the picture over, where a caption read:

_Kamikirimusi, Brutus, and Sairubi; friends for life_

The tall man chuckled and stashed his photo back in his pocket, then walked out the door. The freezing gust that blew past him doused the fire that had lit the room so well.

Kiri was back, and Brutus knew he had to welcome her properly.

* * *

Please note, I put this mission in a little earlier than the Chunin Exams, so Sasuke and Naruto won't know their super powerful attacks, and Sasuke won't have the pedophile's little love bite. That still grosses me out. I regret to say that Naruto will lose his hilarious idiocy at some point in the story. Equivilent Exchange will preside over that particular event, although there won't be any alchemy. See you guys next time with Chapter 3: Old Enemy, Older Ally


	3. Old Enemy, Older Ally

Alright, I think it's safe to say that I have been neglecting my other stories in favor of this one...and Modern Warfare 2...and Halo: Reach...and life. So this will be the final chapter until I update the other stories, which should be soon. I'm pissed at Bungie right now, so I won't be playing Reach for at least a week. That leaves more time for **Bloodstained Hurricane**! I think that I have a rough idea of how I want this to play out now, it's time to apply my hypothesis. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Old Enemy, Older Ally**

Naruto groggily opened his eyes slowly, squinting in the light. His head was aching terribly, as if he had played chicken with a train and lost. He tried to look around, but his vision stayed blurry. Even so, he could see shapes moving swiftly all around him, moving at speeds he couldn't follow in his lucid condition. He turned to a nearby blur that seemed to be sitting still, and was...looking at him? Yelling at him? All the sound in the world was gone, there were just vibrations, echoing clashes. He blinked, and his vision and sight cleared up, only to be burdened by Sasuke yelling in his face.

"-to! Naruto, get up! We have to help Kakashi-sensei! GET UP!" The Uchiha heir practically screamed in Naruto's face, finally forcing him to move.

Naruto stood groggily from his sitting position, then surveyed the world around him. Kakashi was fighting some smug looking man by copying his jutsus, and some weird lady with mechanical wings seemed to be floating over the battle. But he could have sworn there had been three-

In a flash, the large man that was previously missing made himself known, via smashing his metal hand right into Naruto's face. The blonde flew through the air, right past Kakashi, and into an iceberg, shattering the side and sending him toward the center.

_Ow._

Rather than knock him back out, however, the punch brought him to full alertness. Didn't mean it didn't hurt, though.

_Geez, what does this guy do, bench press buildings?_ Naruto pulled himself out of the iceberg's destroyed side. He put his fingers together and formed a familiar seal.

"MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

* * *

Sasuke gasped slightly as he saw his blonde friend propelled through a giant iceberg, the turned to Naruto's assailant. Mizore Fuyukuma stood at just over six feet, seemed to be as wide as a broom closet, and his small black eyes narrowed dangerously as he focused on Sasuke.

"You're dead, little boy." The sizable man ground out. He took a step toward Sasuke, whose look of apprehension turned to a smirk. And he seemed to be looking behind Mizore...

The giant turned around, interested at what could raise the youth's hopes... and paled at the sight of not one, not a hundred, but roughly a thousand clones of Naruto flying toward him. He took an involuntary step back, Sasuke forgotten. Big mistake.

Sasuke reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out a collection of explosive tags, then slapped every one of them onto Fubuki's back.

"Hey, what are you doing back there, kid?" Mizore turned to see Sasuke comically running for his life, arms flailing wildly through the air as he hauled ass. Mizore sweatdropped, then shrugged. _Weirdo._ Mizore threw his snowboard down in preparation to attack then incoming clones, then he heard the hiss. He knew what it was, where it was, and how royally screwed _he_ was.

"Aw sh-"

BOOM!

Sasuke turned at the explosion and grinned triumphantly. The fat moron hadn't even realized that it was a whole package of paper bombs, roughly twenty five of them all set to go off simultaneously. The rather humiliating way Sasuke conducted his retreat had been a ruse to plant the explosives. The result was a huge smoldering crater in the ice, and a lot of smoke. His self-satisfied smirk dropped off into a frown when he saw an upright silhouette in the midst of the crater. The smoke cleared to reveal a dirty, but otherwise fine Mizore, who stood up straight and set a smirk of his own. Unfortunately for the large man, he had completely forgotten about the certain...problem that had captured his attention in the first place.

An enormous shadow cast itself over Fubuki, and the Snow shinobi turned to see the crowd of orange-clad clones hovering over him. He swore and threw down his snowboard, then jumped on it and rocketed toward his peers. The doppelgangers landed and gave chase, forming a huge army that trailed behind the Snow ninja. Mizore looked down at his armor's core as he sped away, and frowned at the slight crack across the center.

_Those paper bombs really put a dent in my armor...I can't let them get close again._

* * *

Sakura looked at the ongoing battle with an envious frown on her face. _Why does everyone else do the fighting, while I sit here and guard the clients?_

The pinkette groaned in exasperation, then kicked a rock over the edge of the iceberg. Unfortunately, the rock hit something slightly harder than ice.

"Ow, that hurt!"

Sakura's eyebrows shot up in alarm, and she peeked over the edge to see a female Snow ninja hovering in mid air, suspended by strange mechanical wings attached to her armor. The Snow ninja rubbed her head, then glared up at Sakura. Sakura returned the glare, and attempted to replace the woman's bump with a kunai hilt. The woman dodged her thrown knife and jumped back, gliding away from the iceberg.

Sakura retreated backward, then dug her hands into the solid ice, sending fissures across the surface and numbing her fingers with cold.

_Kakashi-sensei said to focus chakra in my muscles..._

With a grunt of effort, she pulled up a large slab of ice, then hurled it at the floating ninja. Fubuki's jaw dropped at the display of strength, then desperately dived to avoid possibly the largest ice cube in the world.

Fubuki turned a smug look back toward the genin kunoichi as she watched the ice chunk fall to the sea. Her smug look was replaced, however, by a chakra-enhanced fist that sent her reeling through the air. Sakura fell to the water below, a good two hundred foot drop, and landed calmly on the water's surface, only sending small ripples across the water. She looked up at Fubuki and smirked, then beckoned airily. The Snow ninja gritted her teeth and dove, exceeding maximum velocity with the added propulsion of her armor. She descended toward Sakura, then, just before she would slam into the water, flared up, using the momentum to send a bone-breaking kick toward Sakura's head. Imagine her surprise, however, when the kick went straight through Sakura's head, as if she wasn't there.

_A clone?_ Fubuki turned left and right, trying to find her foe. She growled and ascended, not wanting to be dragged under water by her unseen foe. She flew back toward shore, unaware of the pink-haired kunoichi following along underwater.

When Fubuki reached the beach, she felt a flare of chakra, and instinctively ducked to avoid the lethal punch from a soaking and shivering Sakura Haruno.

_She risked hypothermia just to get the drop on me? Kid's got guts._ Fubuki grinned and grabbed Sakura's hair, then rolled in mid-air, using the spin to build up momentum. When she could barely hold on to the screeching kunoichi's hair, Fubuki hurled Sakura into the ice with tremendous force. The pain-filled cry that punctuated the impact and the sizable amount of snow and ice that was thrown up sent a shiver up Fubuki's spine. She enjoyed this.

_That'll teach the little doll to mess with a REAL kunoichi._ The Snow ninja thought haughtily.

Fubuki frowned as a red blur zipped out of the cloud of debris and charged toward her, flying through the chilling air. The Snow kunoichi braced herself, then caught the kick aimed for her head. She and Sakura locked eyes, exchanged determined looks, then continued the airborne grappling match.

* * *

"Nadare Roga. It's been a while."

The leader of the Snow team smirked and crossed his arms.

"Well, I could have put you out of your misery years ago, but you denied me that particular pleasure." The man shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess I'll just do it today."

Kakashi narrowed his eye and dashed forward, a kunai already in his hand. Nadare's grin widened, and he rushed forward as well to meet the Copy Ninja head on. The two collided with some force, sending snow and ice flying in several directions, and throwing up a white haze. Several grunts of effort could be heard from white obscuring cloud, but it remained for several seconds. When the chilling mist finally cleared, the two rivals could be seen struggling against each other, kunai against kunai. Kakashi grunted in effort, then smirked in victory.

"I picked this up from an ice user, so this is actually quite ironic."

Holding his weight on the kunai, Kakashi held a single hand out near his chest, then began using hand seals. Nadare's eyes widened, and he grit his teeth. _One handed signs? Impossible!_

Before Nadare could disengage, Kakashi finished his seals, and called out the name of his jutsu.

"Ice Style: Ice Dragon!"

The ice all around Nadare's feet erupted from the ground in the form of a giant dragon, with Nadare clamped in its mouth. Kakashi sighed in relief, but quickly dodged back as his ice dragon exploded from Nadare's body, and a faint shimmer of chakra seemed to form a barrier around his body. It obviously had a negative effect on Nadare, however, as he was heavily panting.

_We have to retreat. Countering that attack took a toll on my armor,_ Nadare thought with a grimace, then glanced over toward the retreating Mizore, with a horde of blonde ninjas hot on his trail. _And Mizore's on the run as well._ Nadare jumped backward in retreat, just in time to catch Fubuki from a chakra-enhanced punch, courtesy of Sakura. He landed roughly on one knee, the unconscious Fubuki lolling limply in his arms.

"Mizore, retreat!" The leader roared, and with a single hand sign, disappeared in a swirl of snow. Secretly relieved, the larger member of the Snow team nodded, then disappeared as well, the only trace a single track in the snow that suddenly came to a stop. Kakashi waved a hand in the air, and his three genin students appeared around his kneeling form.

"You guys did great. I'm really proud of you all." Kakashi said with an eye smile. Naruto chuckled and put his hands behind his head. Sasuke smirked and replied, "Hn." Sakura, on the other hand, wasn't fairing so well.

"Uh, g-g-guys? I c-could use a little w-w-warmth..." Naruto cried out in alarm at the sight of Sakura's shivering form.

"Sakura, are you alright? We got to get you to the ship right away!"

Kakashi nodded in agreement, and the four Leaf ninja swiftly made their way back to the ship, to explain their sudden absence and to care for Sakura. Naruto shivered as a chill crawled up his spine. Even after soundly defeating the enemy, he still got that sinking feeling he was being watched.

* * *

Brutus sat upon a hilltop some ways inland, and had watched the short skirmish with interest. Something was bugging him, however.

_I could almost TASTE her soul, she was so close... but she didn't even fight. It seems the source of her aura is coming from the small boy...there is no way she was careless enough to be sealed away, is there?_

The ancient paladin snorted at the very idea, but looked again through his telescope. He examined what he could see of the retreating blonde boy, and thought back to the boy's face.

_Those whiskers didn't look like tattoos-too real. I think she DID go and get sealed up. Now what?_

With a disappointed frown, Brutus collapsed the telescope and stood. He wiped stray snow from his paladin greaves, then turned and began the long trek back to town. He had some planning to do.

* * *

"What do you mean, YOU FAILED?"

Nadare winced at his employer's harsh reprimand, but he continued to look the dictator in the eye.

"We were surprised by the skill and adaptivity of our opponents. I assure you, Lord Dotou, it shall not happen again."

The three Snow ninja knelt before a large throne situated on an impossibly tall staircase. Fubuki sat in his damaged armor, while Mizori held an ice pack to a rapidly developing bruise just under her eye. Nadare sat shamefully, and did most of the reporting to their superior. A dark-haired man in blue royal robes sat upon the throne, and his expression was one of a person that was less than pleased.

"I payed you good money to bring Yukie Fujikaze here, and instead you show up, beaten and empty handed? I gave you state-of-the-art chakra armor, and you come back defeated, with one set DAMAGED? How can you call yourselves Snow ninja with such poor results as these?"

Dotou waved his hand dismissively toward Nadare. "Get out of my sight, the three of you. I need to think and change our plans to work around this _failure_."

Nadare winced again, but nodded. The three subordinates disappeared in a flash, leaving the corrupt dictator to his own thoughts.

_Without the Hex Crystal, we cannot obtain the Fujikaze fortune. These Leaf ninja will require more effort to defeat._

With his goal in mind, Dotou stood, and began to descend the long staircase. He had work to do.

* * *

Sasuke carefully set Sakura down on her cot, making sure that she was comfortable. He looked at her in a new light, metaphorically speaking. He gazed upon her peaceful face and frowned.

_Where did she learn to hit like that? If that hit had been a little stronger, that kunoichi would have been decapitated..._

He brushed a stray lock of hair from Sakura's above average sized forehead and stood up. Being careful not to make much noise, he exited the room and closed the door quitely, missing the soft smile on the kunoichi's face.

Sasuke returned to the boys' room, where Naruto and Kakashi were going over the battle.

"What knocked me out in the first place, Kakashi-sensei? I mean, I remember reaching the beach, then...nothing." Sasuke walked over to the table and sat in one of the two empty chairs.

The boys' room was pretty sparse, containing a couple of cots in the corner farthest from the wall, and a rollout futon for Naruto. In the middle of the room was a rectangular table with four wooden chairs, where the team deliberated.

Sasuke turned to Naruto and dropped into 'Uchiha Mode'.

"First off, dobe," he ticked off a finger, "you were focused on Kakashi-sensei, not your surroundings. Second," he raised another finger, "you were relying entirely on me to alert you on potential enemies, and finally," he raised a third digit, "when Gigantor hit you, it was right in the temple. Instant knock out, and would have been a lethal blow if you weren't so thick-skulled." Sasuke finished, then lowered his hand. Kakashi smiled under his mask and nodded at Sasuke.

"Very good, Sasuke." Naruto, however, was fuming.

"Okay, I get it, I didn't watch my vectors. It's not the end of the world or anything." The blonde griped loudly, only to get a stern look from Kakashi.

"You're wrong, Naruto. If that ninja had been trying to kill you," his silver-haired teacher began, "you would have been dead. Remember that every successful hit landed on you could have been fatal had the enemy been on his toes. Luck and, as Sasuke put it, thick-headedness saved your bacon today."

Naruto clutched his head and groaned.

"Why is it always me?"

Kakashi and Sasuke chuckled at the blonde's antics, then sobered up into dull seriousness. With Sasuke there, they could talk strategy, since the Snow ninja had thrown their defensive ideas down the tubes.

* * *

_A Few Days Later..._

News of the approaching convoy had spread like wildfire through the hamlet towns of Snow country. There were mixed feelings at the famous actress's arrival, as with all popular faces. Some wanted her autograph, others wanted her to jump off a bridge. And the topic was quite popular in several of the taverns and bars around the country.

In one such bar, just north of where Team 7 had fought off the Snow team, a group of eight ninja sat at a table, laughing uproarously and chugging mead like it was going out of style. Their raucious manner and foul language had already chased away most of the other patrons, save a man in red armor in the opposite corner.

The leader of the drunken unit, a man wearing the usual light grey ninja attire with mask and hitai-ate, looked blearily over toward their fellow consumer. He pointed, slightly off mark from his drunk brain, and said rather loudly, "Hey, boysh! That guy over theresh looksh kin'a funny!"

The band of morons all stopped in their partying and turned to look where their leader had pointed. The man in the corner raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The leader stood up awkwardly, and dragged his inebriated state over toward the crimson armored man, his goons following.

"Hey, yoush there! Gives us all your cash, and we will let thish inshident shlide." He demanded, slurring his words and holding out his hand. Another raised eyebrow was all he received.

"And what incident might that be, cretin?" Brutus replied quitely, though the hidden threat was lost on the Robin Hood of alcohol.

"Hey!" the inebriated leader snarled, "I'll have yoush know that we are members of Dotou'sh elite shinobi, and we are here to make shure troublemakersh like yourshelf don't cause..." the man faltered in his drunken speech, casting his eyes around as if searching for his missing word. Brutus chuckled and supplemented the declaration.

"Trouble?" he suggested. The drunken man nodded enthusiastically.

"Yesh! Trouble! So just fork over the cash and we'll forget thish ev'r happened." He held out his hand expectantly, and the men behind him did their best to look intimidating. They failed miserably, but still, their best.

Brutus looked down in a resigned fashion, then turned around to go for his 'bag'.

"When faced with logic such as this, how can I refuse?" He said neutrally, and the eight idiots laughed at the easy score and exhanged high fives. The leader chuckled at the victory, but something seemed wrong. The guy had gone for his bag, then was all of a sudden facing him. The Snow jounin looked down at a prickling feeling in his hand, only to find that said appendage was no longer attached to his arm.

Brutus kicked the man in the chest, sending him flying through a support post. The owner of the tavern and his staff hid behind the bar. The seven remaining ninja looked back at their leader, who was embedded in a wall, then turned stupidly back toward the man in red.

Brutus had Buster out, the black finish casting an erie glow in the light. He stood with his right foot and hand forward, with his giant sword in his left hand, spikes up.

"So," he said sinisterly, "who's next?"

* * *

And done. I would like to remind you guys before you start reviewing that the skirmish was short because I didn't want it to be the main battle. Also, in reference to Nadare and Kakashi's fight, they had been fighting for quite a while before Naruto and Sasuke caught on. Sakura may be a little stronger, but only because I want her to be on par with the other two. Review if you want, but flame and I will find you, burn your house down, and kick your dog. If you do not own a dog, I shall purchase you one, wait six months, come back, re-burn your house down, then kick aforementioned dog. Toodles.

Also, thanks to Ace6151 who pointed out a critical error in the previous version of this chapter. Props, bro.


	4. Hidden Past, Crimson Future

A good response to chapter 3, although this is, like, four hours after posting it, so I don't know the full effect right now. Later on in the chapter, it should be much better. I'd like to thank Ace5161 for pointing out a crucial naming error in the previous chapter. That was embarrassing as a writer, and I fully apologize. Anyway, let's see some swords!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Hidden Past, Crimson Future**

Dotou fidgeted on his high throne. His face was set in a hard glare: lips pursed, brow furrowed, and eyes cold. His object of scrutiny was a piece of paper, a report actually, detailing the deaths of several of his subordinate shinobi. Seven chunin and one jounin killed in a tavern near the southern shore, perilously close to where the Leaf ninja had landed. But the Snow ninja where all killed by a sword.

Dotou grunted in frustration, and crumpled up the paper in both hands. He grimaced in anger, and his brain was processing rapidly.

_The Konoha ninja weren't equiped with large swords, and they are still headed toward the eastern forests...away from the villager where my men were killed. That means that there is an unknown entity, and that represents a dangerous variable..._

Dotou nodded to himself, then looked to his left, toward a curtained servant's entrance near the wall.

"Mizore!" He called imperiously.

Within seconds, the large Snow ninja zipped out of the doorway, then landed in front of Dotou, kneeling in respect.

"What is your command, Lord Danzou?" the large man asked submissively. Dotou gestured with his hand, and Mizore stood to his full height. The Snow Lord handed Mizore the casualty report. Mizore looked at it with interest and read it carefully, his small beady eyes darting across the words. When he finished, he looked back up at Dotou.

"You want me to investigate, milord?"

Dotou nodded. He reached into his robes, then retrieved a photograph, which he handed to Mizore. Mizore looked upon the picture with new interest, and he memorized the subject instantly.

"This man owns the tavern at which our soldiers were killed," Dotou explained. "He wouldn't give a description to the investigator, and seemed more fearful of the murderer than of our police force." The dictator leaned forward to put emphasis on his next words.

"Find this man, interrogate him, and find the man who killed eight of our fine shinobi." He leaned back, and Mizore bowed once again. "Consider it done, sir."

With that, the large man disappeared. Dotou smiled smugly, and relaxed on his high throne.

_If there is anyone other than myself capable of combating a swordsman, it is Mizore._ Confident in his descision, he returned his thoughts to the capture of Yukie Fujikaze and her precious Hex Crystal.

* * *

Kakashi groaned for what had to be the hundreth time. He sat on the back of a truck in the convoy that his team was assigned to protect. Under the pretenses of resting for any upcoming fights, Team 7 was allowed to ride on a flatbed truck in the rear of the convoy, where they had full access to the outside. The silver-haired Copy Ninja had taken to reading his precious Icha Icha while Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura trained. By 'train', he meant that Naruto created a lot of clones that ran along the convoy, while Sasuke tried to nail them with fireballs. Sakura also got a supply of clones, and she was trying to perfect her chakra control by having a home run derby of sorts with the clones.

CRACK! POOF!...Crack!...POOF!

Her record was roughly a kilometer, though it could have been a cloud...

Sasuke used his Phoenix Flower jutsu to peg the clones from afar, and so far was doing exceptionally well. The jutsu built up his chakra stores, and his accuracy was improving greatly as well. Kakashi just thought it was hilarious to see copies of Naruto flying through the air. Soon, Sakura's supply of clones dwindled down, as most of them were hiding behind Kakashi, trembling in fear.

Naruto, surprisingly enough, was asleep. Well, his teammates thought he was asleep, when in reality, he was in his mindscape...

* * *

"That was the worst fight I've ever seen."

Naruto cried out indignantly.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad! I was chasing him all over the place after he clocked me!"

Kiri shook her head in disbelief. Naruto was standing on the otherside of the pretty much useless golden bars, and was being critqued by his resident demon.

"You got clobbered not once, but twice! Come on, kid, you've got to be better than that." She commented lazily as she lay on the ground, resting on her elbows. Naruto kicked the wall in frustration.

"What's up with everyone getting me on those TWO punches. I mean, I'm just a genin..." he turned around and slumped against the wall. "I can't see every possible outcome. I'm not perfect." he muttered gloomily.

"Aww, the kid's all depressed." Kiri snorted and piddled idly with a chunk of metal from one of the bars.

"The reason we get on to you is just that: _you're a genin._ We don't expect you to go around without making mistakes." She flicked the fist-sized piece of metal, and it flew toward Naruto, skittering across the floor to hit his feet. "What we do expect is for you to learn from those mistakes."

Naruto seemed to brighten a little, then something occurred to him.

"Kiri...after we headed back to the ship, I felt... I felt like I was being watched."

Kiri smirked, then sat up to sit cross-legged.

"And?" She asked expectantly.

"It felt like someone wasn't watching me, but it kinda felt like they were watching _you._" he said hesitantly, as if not trusting his words to portray his thoughts. Kiri grinned like a Cheshire cat at his little observation.

"What you felt was a Soul Scan. Certain people over time have been able to read a person's very soul, and by extension, any souls they happen to be imprisoning." Naruto flushed at the last bit, and averted his eyes. No matter how many times Kiri told him, he still felt guilty for her predicament.

"And as far as I know," the crimson-haired demon continued, "only one person alive has that ability. And he is a great friend of mine." Naruto really perked up at this news; beyond her sealing, he didn't really know much about her past.

"So, the guy that was spying on us is one of your friends? Then why didn't he help us out?"

Naruto didn't get the picture, which frustrated the demon slightly.

"Think about it, genius. I haven't seen him in at least thirteen years, and just because he saw _me_ doesn't mean he saw my current state of mind. Knowing how overprotective he is, he probably thinks you captured me inside of you."

Naruto stood up at this, alarmed that he might be the victim of some misguided rescue attempt.

"But that's not how it really is!" he protested. Kamikirimusi chuckled at his juvenile fear. It was like talking to an eight year old: you had to spell out every possibility.

"But Brutus doesn't know that. He often killed people just for looking at me funny, so the thought of me being captured would piss him off royally."

Naruto looked downtrodden all of a sudden. "You guys are close?" he asked quietly.

Kiri knew why the kid was all mopey: he didn't really have many good friends, certainly none that would die for him. _I'll have to nip that in the bud,_ the demon groused.

"We were considered to be the best friends on earth at one point in time, though there were three of us then. Brutus, Sairubi and I all had some great adventures. But we eventually went our seperate ways. Last I heard, Sai was somewhere up north, training in his least favorite element: tundra. Brutus fell off the map roughly a year before I was sealed; his last words to me were 'We're the last of our time, Kiri. Let the next generations take the world. I've had my fill.'" She mimicked the last part, dropping her tone to a comically low voice.

Naruto chuckled at her antics. Surely this Brutus guy wouldn't be so bad? Naruto started to ask about the third in her trio of friends, but a large tremor ran through his mindscape. He fell to the ground and closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was outside.

* * *

"Naruto, get up. We've got to guard the princess while she does her scene." Sakura was gently shaking the blonde, who had fallen on his side due to an acute lack of sensei/pillow. He grumbled and sat up, rubbing his eyes at the harsh light. Sakura removed her hand and jumped off the truck, running to her assigned post. Naruto stretched and stood up, scratching at some itches that needed to be addressed.

When he reached the movie set, he leaned against a tree and watched for enemies, while his mind wandered to the man on his tail. _Brutus, huh? I wonder if I should ask Kakashi about him..._

Naruto continued his surveilance of the area, and Kakashi glanced over toward him. Something was up, by the meaningful look in his sensei's eye. Naruto tried to look relaxed, as if he hadn't seen anything, but his gaze now roamed across the snowy mountainside they had stopped at.

The trucks were stopped on a cleared area through the woods, as if the trail was well travelled, yet there was no sign of previous travel. It was simply a cliff edge with no scrubs. A snowy hill climbed up roughlu seventy feet to a zenith where snow met sky, though the hill looked to be a rough sclimb. Below the path was a large patch of frozen woodlands, all leaves and greenery absent. Add the caves to the rear of the convoy and the wooden bridge ahead, and the area just screamed...ambush.

Naruto gritted his teeth and caught Kakashi's eye. _What genius picked this spot to stop at?_ He inwardly fumed. Kakashi shrugged ever so slightly, then used subtle gestures to communicate with Sasuke and Sakura. The general message: _keep on your toes._

Not even a few minutes after their silent conversations, Naruto felt a spike of chakra. Even with his substandard chakra control, he could sense a large usage of energy, and it was getting closer. Something was coming for them.

* * *

Mizore found the tavern keeper easily, as the villagers had been eager to point out his establishment. When he had walked in, the pretty waitresses had all gone into the back room, leaving the trembling owner with Mizore. The man talked with little need of convincing; he was scared of the man who had slaughtered the Snow ninjas.

"...and you're telling me he yanked something out of one of them?" Mizore questioned tersely. The tavern owner was submitting information that had not been in the report.

"Y-y-yes. He killed all but the last ninja, then grabbed the man. Then he..." the barkeep stammered and trailed off, the memory frightening him again. Mizore cocked a brow. Finally, the short man swallowed, then finished his statement.

"He pulled out the man's _soul_, Mr. Mizore. And absorbed it." the man said gravely. Mizore rolled his eyes at this. The tavern keeper's fear had changed his account over the course of a few nightmares, which made him useless.

"I'll do my best to find this man, Mr. Myamoto. You take care and report any more sightings." The small barkeep nodded, but continued to fidget even after the Snow shinobi left. It could have been the shock of reliving a horrific incident, or the intimidating aura that the Snow shinboi gave off. But it was probably Brutus hiding directly behind the bar, listening to his every word. Yeah, that was probably it.

* * *

Now that they knew that company was coming, the Leaf ninja cancelled the shoot. Yukie was hearded back to a truck, despite her protests.

"Why do you guys insist on protecting me like this? You're al just going to- GWAH!" The Snow princess was cut off by a rather forceful Sakura, who pretty much threw the actress into the vehicle then slammed the door.

"Why don't you let us do our jobs for once, geez!" the pinkette said roughly.

With the princess 'safely secured', Kakashi and the others could focus on the threat. And the threat was quick to make itself known.

As thhe feeling of chakra got closer, so did its path. Or, to be more precise, its tracks. Naruto walked toward the cave slowly, only to trip over something solid. He cried out in alarm, then crashed to the ground, face first. The blonde rubbed his head with a groan, then gasped at the sight of what he tripped over. What he found was a pair of rails, both of which were covered by a small layer of chakra.

"What the heck..." he muttered out loud. Kakashi, however, knew exactly what was going on.

"Naruto, get back!" the Copy Ninja cried. "If the rails are being defrosted, then the train is close behind!" Naruto jerked his head up, and heard the sound of...whistling?

Suddenly, a bright light shone out of the cave, lighting the edges of ice and sending off a rainbow of colors. The light focused however, and Naruto finally moved out of the way. Not a moment too soon, either, as just as he was out of sight, a black locomotive charged out of the cave, shattering icesicles that were in the way. And right behind the engine, several hexagonal cars followed. Kakashi and Sasuke took cover as well, while Sakura coaxed the film crews over to a safe location. She didn't notice Yukie's manager, Sandayuu, slip away.

The train slowed gradually, revealing more cars from the cave. Soon, the long chain of cars stopped, with a red caboose at the end. And from several cars, speaker towers climbed into the frigid air, poles supporting them. And from those speakers, a deep, smooth voice was broadcast all across the ridge.

"Come out, come out, Yukie. It's been such a long time." A platform just to the rear of the main engine made itself known, and its passenger was darker than the locomotive that pulled it. Well, he was dressed in light blue and white colors, but...well you get the picture. Dotou scanned the immediate area, but could not locate his niece.

Sakura stood next to Yukie's truck, and she narrowed her eyes as the door opened _ever_ so slightly, and slammed her back into the door, whistling innocently. The slam, however, attracted Dotou's attention.

The dictator smirked, then gestured in Sakura's direction. The pinkette sensed motion to her right, and brought up a kunai to block a blow from Fubuki, the Snow kunoichi from earlier. Fubuki grinned sadistically, then threw a knee into Sakura's midsection, sending the girl flying. Kakashi's eye widened, but he was soon face to face with Nadare Roga.

"Kakashi."

"Nadare."

The maddening smirk on Nadare's face told Kakashi that the Snow team had a few tricks up their sleeves. He did, however, notice it was a team of two.

"So, where's your third? I could have sworn that there was a big lug following you around." Kakashi ventured, hoping to coax some information out of Nadare. The Snow ninja's smirk faded, and his eyes narrowed.

"Mizore has been reassigned. Don't think just because there are two of us, we'll lose to you Leaf scum." the leader spat out, and he began forming handsigns. Kakashi jumped away from his tree toward open ground, near Naruto. When he landed, he looked at Naruto.

"Take Sasuke and the princess and get out of here. Sakura and I can hold them off, but the princess _must _be secured." Kakashi instructed in a no-nonsense tone. Naruto objected, however.

"Kakashi-sensei, we can fight! Just let me and Sasuke get into the fight, and we'll mop up the dirtbags faster than anything!" He quailed under his sensei's glare, however, and nodded in submission.

_That doesn't mean I won't leave behind a few clones to screw with them._ Naruto thought darkly. He strafed Sakura's battle with Fubuki, wincing in sympathy as Sakura took a wicked kick to the face, but continued on his journey. When he reached the princess's truck, Sasuke was already there, glaring a hole in Kakashi's back.

"Why does he insist on pulling _us_ out of the fight? We're the heavy hitters." Sasuke complained angrily. However, he continued to follow orders, and pried open the dented door. He reached in and disappeared from view, while Naruto stood guard. When Sasuke drew back, he had the princess's gloved hand clutched in his own.

"Jump on my back, Yukie, and we'll be outta here in no time!" Naruto offered enthusiastically.

The princess sighed and rolled her eyes with such efficiency that Shikamaru would be jealous, but she clambered onto Naruto's back all the same, hooking her arms around his neck. Naruto formed his signature seal, and said quietly, "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Five clones appeared, ready for a fight. Naruto nodded his head toward Kakashi and Nadare, who were currently trading snow jutsu. The clones nodded and took off, three to help Sakura and two to help Kakashi. Sasuke and the original Naruto turned and started running in the opposite direction, up the hill.

Kakashi parried another blow from Nadare, and lifted his headband to reveal the crimson eye of the Sharingan. Things seemed to slow down, and he could predict Nadare's movements easily. He ducked under a slower punch, then responded with an uppercut. The Copy Ninja couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction, only to frown in dismay as Nadare crumpled into a pile of Snow. _You have GOT to be kidding me_.

Nadare appeared at Kakashi's 5 o' clock, swinging a vicious haymaker at Kakashi's head. Kakashi dodged to the side, then retaliated with a punch of his own, only for Nadare to jump backwards and out of close combat. Kakashi didn't give chase, but rather focused on Nadare's hands. The Snow ninja landed and announced his technique at the same time.

"Wolf Fang Avalanche!" the Snow lounin roared, and the hill behind him careened forward, the driving snow taking the shape of a pack of wolves. Each glacial canine had glowing yellow eyes, and stood at nine feet in height. The pack thundered down the slope, missing Nadare as he held his handsign. Naruto's clones rushed the pack, but they were both annihilated within seconds.

Kakashi threw several kunai into the pack, but the knives merely sank into the wolves and fell behind them. _Since he's maintaining the seal, I can't disrupt their chakra structures,_ Kakashi mused. That left only one option: attack Nadare himself. Kakashi hurled several shuriken at Nadare, but the throwing stars were knocked out of the air by a particularly large wolf, which snarled angrily. Kakashi tried to hurl another volley of weapons, but it was too late; they were upon him.

The Copy Ninja ducked and weaved as the pack attacked, keeping up with the wolves despite their ability to come in from different directions. He jumped over one low wolf, only to slash his way through another that leaped up to attack. As he fell, Kakashi flew through hand seals.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He cried, then held a hand up to his mask. He descended firing, melting the wolves with fireballs as he ran toward his target: Nadare. Three wolves tailed behind him, and he turned and backpedalled to give him an angle to melt them as well. In three shots, the trio of wolves were reduced to piles of melting snow, and Kakashi closed in on his target.

He reached Nadare just as the Snow jounin whipped out a kunai, which he used to stabb Kakashi in the shoulder. Kakashi groaned in pain, and Nadare's victorious smirk widened. It disappeared altogether, however, when Kakashi turned into a cloud of smoke.

_A shadow clone?_ Nadare looked all around him, but the ridge was devoid of Copy Ninjas. He felt something grab his ankle, then cried out in alarm as he was dragged underground. Kakashi brust from under the snow a moment later, then turned to the fuming head of Nadare.

"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique." Kakashi said in a lecturing tone. Nadare hissed with rage, then smirked. Kakashi picked up on it a second too late, and turned around to see a snow wolf, paw raised and claws sharp.

_I missed one?_ Kakashi thought as he attempted to evade, dodging to the right. He partially succeeded, but grunted in pain as the ice lupine slashed his left shoulder, and blood spurted out. He jumped back several yards, then landed in a crouch, clutching his bleeding arm. Nadare smirked from the ground, then swapped places with the wolf with a replacement jutsu. The wolf disintegrated into normal snow as soon as Nadare was free. Kakashi narrowed his eyes and readied another kunai, his last. Nadare mirrored Kakashi, and the two rushed forward once more.

* * *

Dotou looked at the carnage spreading around him as the ninjas fought, searching intently for his niece. _Where could she have disappeared to?_ The dictator mused. He scanned the forest below the ridge to see, to his great suprise, Mizore. A wounded and bleeding Mizore at that.

The large Snow nin made his way cautiously around the ongoing fights, his eyes filled with something Dotou had rarely seen in the man: fear. When he finally navigated the two battles, he climbed up to Dotou's platform. Upon closer inspection, he could see Mizore was truly in bad shape.

Mizore's left arm was bleeding profusely from a cut just above the elbow, and his metal gauntlet was gone. His core for his chakra armor was also missing, and four ragged holes marched across the man's chest in its stead, each leaking blood down his front. His cap was gone, and his raven-colored hair was wildly blowing about in the wind. His beady eyes were wide with fear.

"Lord Dotou." The injured ninja still had the ability to bow, though he still clutched at his left arm. Dotou mtioned for the man to rise, then asked, "What happened, Mizore? I thought you were going after that murderer in the southern villages?"

"He is no ordinary man, Lord Dotou." The large nin reported. Even as he stood before his master, Mizore's eyes darted this way and that, on alert for danger.

_He doesn't look like a bear anymore, more like prey._ Dotou mused.

"When I found him," the Snow nin continued, "he asked to duel me." The large man panted and shook his head.

"He wiped the floor with me, milord. And I could only just make it here in time."

Dotou nodded sagely, then hit a button on the platform. With a mechanical whir, the platform descended back into the train.

"We will report back to the fortress and get you a doctor, Mizore. Then, we will see about this murderer." Dotou said once they were within the safety of the armored train. As if by ungiven consent, the train began to move forward, and Dotou sat in a plush chair.

_The Hex Crystal is still out there, but I WILL get it. I just need to tie up some loose ends first._

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke reached the top of the hill and looked back in time to see Mizore jump onto the platform and speak with the man in white. The superior man nodded and lowered them into the train, and it began to move.

"Ha, what a bunch of chickens! They're running away from Sakura and Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto snickered. Sasuke smirked as he watched Kakashi's opponent run and jump onto the retreating train, leaving the Leaf jounin standing in the snow. Nadare must have thrown back a few insults, as he received a one finger salute from the silver-haired Copy Ninja.

Naruto turned to continue down the hill only to run into something solid. He fell backwards, dislodging Yukie and planting him on his butt. He rubbed his nose and demanded angrily, "Hey, what's the big idea?"

His grousing was cut off, however, by a deep voice asking its own question.

"Well, well, what have we here?"

* * *

Done. Well, Cliffhanger, but still. I should have chapter five up soon. Enjoy, and review, god dammit!


	5. Revelations

Well, a generally good response to the one-two punch of the two previous chapters. I noticed, however, that has been a little glitchy as of late, so this might be a little later than when I finished it. I am also beta-ing for my good pal MERC, so the updates may be a _little_ slower. I hope you guys like Brutus, because he really comes into play here!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Revelations**

Naruto gaped at the man standing before him. He was garbed in full blood red armor, though it seemed foreign. Instead of strategically placed steel, the man was wearing basically a suit of steel, protecting him by pretty much covering him entirely. He had cloth around his abdomen and neck, but the stiff material was also colored crimson. His hair was cut down to near his scalp, the same length as his beard, which surrounded his mouth and ran down his neck, stopping just above his Adam's apple. His piercing brown eyes were shaded by sharp eyebrows, giving him a predatory appearance. And his sword was another story altogether. It was all spiky on the outside of the blade, while the inside curve was sharp. Throw in the black paint job, and it was an intimidating blade. (That's Naruto's description. I already gave you one!)

Sasuke's reaction was less fear and more bewilderment. _It's HIM! Brutus, the guy that Itachi always idolized... I wonder if I should..._

The man chuckled darkly as Naruto examined him. He reached behind him to grasp his large sword, making the three people before him tense up. He reached back ward slowly, then grasped the handle of Buster, and Naruto moved protectively in front of Yukie, his teeth bared. Sasuke clenched his fists, a dark scowl the only sign of his inner distress over his difficult dilemma. Brutus brought his black sword around slowly, the arc amazing his audience with the sheer size of his blade, and smirked. He thrust the sword into the air with his left hand, then angled it downward, stabbing it into the pure snow. The stricken party relaxed slightly, though Naruto did not move from his position.

"From what I gather," the giant of a man said coolly, "you seem to be quite close to a red-haired friend of mine." He set his left hand on the pommel of his sword, an unspoken warning hanging in the air. "Care to explain?"

Naruto would have facepalmed if he wasn't so scared. _This must be that guy Kiri was talking about. How am I going to convince him that we're allies before he chops us all up?_

In desperation, Naruto threw his hands out in a pleading manner.

"Wait! I didn't seal her on purpose! I mean, I didn't even seal her at all! We've talked, we're cool, please don't kill me!" he cried out, and his response seemed to amuse Brutus.

Sasuke snapped his head up, his eyes brimming with cold determination. His mind was made up. He trudged through the shin-high snow toward Brutus, who cocked a brow in interest. Sasuke walked until he was within arm's reach of Brutus, then slowly reached around to his equipment pouch, keeping his head down. Three pairs of eyes watched the scene, all with different thoughts.

_Why is it always the suicidal ones that guard me?_

_What is that duck-haired moron thinking?_

_This should be interesting._

Sasuke stopped rummaging, apparently grasping tight whatever he had found. He slowly pulled out...a notebook. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen as well. He held it out to Brutus, whose eyes widened in realization.

"Could I please have your autograph?" Yukie's and Naruto's jaws hit the snow at the same time, eyes bulging.

_We're in a life or death situation and he wants an AUTOGRAPH? _Naruto thought incredulously.

Brutus, however, seemed used to it. He sighed and took the offered pen and paper.

"Alright, who do I make this out to?" he asked in a slightly bored tone. Sasuke leaned forward and said the name or names too softly for Naruto or Yukie to hear, and Brutus signed the notepad with a flourish and returned it, along with the pen. Satisfied with his autograph, Sasuke turned and started walking back down the hill, hands in his pockets. Naruto stammered as he passed.

"W-w-w-w-," Naruto' shock was tangible, to say the least. His eyes were wide, and his fingers were twitching at the unfairness of it all.

"Go ahead and get killed, dobe. I'm not taking on the Red Death. Call for help if you want, I'm not coming back." Sasuke said with a lazy wave courtesy of Kakashi, which caused Naruto to actually face fault. He stood up quickly, enraged, with a vein pulsing at his temple.

"SOME JERKWAD TEAMMATE YOU ARE! IF I MAKE IT OUT OF THIS, I'M STINK BOMBING YOUR HOUSE FOR A _WEEK_!" the blonde yelled angrily, steam venting from his ears. Realizing his situation, however, Naruto turned back to face Brutus, and ire was replaced by trepidation. _Why does this always happen to me?_

Brutus found the whole situation quite humorous, but he kept a cool facade all the same. Appearances had to be maintained, of course. He tapped the pommel of his massive blade, then said imperiously, "I'll repeat myself, care to explain? I am dying to find out why I sense my best friend tied to _your soul_." he enunciated the last part in a threatening manner, his lips parting to bare his teeth.

Naruto almost cried at the situation; his luck just sucked so bad. He sighed and drew himself up to run faster than he had ever run before, when an idea struck him: _maybe Kiri can tell me something to convince him!_ Naruto snapped his fingers at the realization, which caught Brutus's attention.

"How about you ask me something only she would know? That way, if she doesn't like me, she'll say the wrong thing and you'll know it. If she doesn't hate my guts, she'll tell me the truth and you'll know that she is not being held prisoner." he finished with a grin. He himself was amazed at the plan. But geniuses must outdo their peers, and when you're peerless like Naruto Uzumaki (read: a moron), you must outdo yourself.

Brutus actually considered the plan, cocking a brow and thinking._ If worse comes to worse,_ he reasoned, _I can just kill him and save Kiri's soul from the Shinigami._ He nodded at his plan, then spoke aloud, "Alright, I've got one that you would _never_ know: What got Kiri, Sai, and I chased out of Istanbul?"

Naruto nodded, then sat down cross-legged in front of Yukie in a meditative posture. He nodded forward, then jerked back, nodded again, then fell to the side, unconscious. Brutus and Yukie looked at each other and sweatdropped. But Naruto was inside his mindscape, and Kiri was most forthcoming with a slightly censored tale of the Istanbul escape. Brutus stood there awkwardly for a second, expecting the blonde to spring up at any moment. Yukie just tucked her knees under her chin and wrapped her arms around them. Finally, the swordsman sighed and plopped down in front of Buster, then leaned against the blade.

He sat there, arms crossed, and mentally counted shinobi. When he got to twenty-eight, Naruto stirred, then began to show signs of activity. He snorted, yawned, and sat up, stretching groggily. Brutus rolled his eyes at the exaggerations.

"Well?" he barked gruffly, "What did she say?"

Naruto rubbed his forehead sheepishly, then composed himself.

"Ok," he began slowly, "I'm not sure if I got this right, so I'll check with her every now and then, but here it goes." he took a deep breath, and then released it slowly. Then he was ready, and so began.

"You guys went to Istanbul after that Sairubi guy got freed from Cer-what's his face's skeleton crew. You guys partied for a while, then you made some sort of dare. She wouldn't tell me about the whole thing, but apparently Sairubi did something with the...pasha's daughter, then shouted it out to the entire population from her bedroom afterwards. And you guys got chased out the front gates by the pasha himself." Naruto finished, then scrutinized Brutus's expression with the fervor of a child awaiting a grade.

Brutus was actually taken aback. He hadn't expected the boy to answer the question correctly, much less in the version he had done so._ She actually cares about the boy enough to shield his innocence from what Sai did to the pasha's daughter... most intriguing._

Yukie, on the other hand, was blushing furiously at Naruto's obliviousness. _He just described a rather rambunctious night with a royal dignitary's daughter, and he doesn't even know what occurred._ She shook her head, vigorously, both to hide her blush and hide her eyes from Brutus' gaze.

"So, how'd I do?" Naruto asked cockily, already knowing that he had been right. He made a mental note to thank Kiri later for the explanation, even if he had no clue what Sairubi had done.

Brutus chuckled and shook his head, then leaned forward and stood up slowly. He pulled Buster out of the ground one handed, then slung it over his shoulder and into its sling. He nodded toward Naruto with an expression akin to respect.

"That was correct, boy. You have my apologies. I had thought you had taken Kiri prisoner within your body, or something akin to it. Her kind aren't necessarily well received across the world."

Naruto's grin faded, and a solemn expression crossed his face. He knew what Brutus was talking about, and he knew Kiri well. She did not deserve the treatment demons got from people.

Brutus frowned at Naruto's downtrodden look and walked over to the blonde boy. He set a hand on the boy's shoulder, and shook it.

"We, my boy, are the people who know the truth: not all demons are evil. I'm just glad you don't resent her." Brutus said quietly. Naruto nodded. _If there are more of us, then we can change how people react around demons...around Kiri._

Brutus inhaled deeply, then looked around. "I assume you did not come to this fine country by yourself. Where is the scarecrow and that pink-haired girl with anger issues?"

Naruto started, then looked down the hill in alarm, eyes wide. He relaxed, however, when he saw the rest of his team at the bottom of the hill, along with a tightly bound Fubuki. Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Looks like they beat them. We even captured one!" he cried enthusiastically. He walked over to Yukie and pulled the princess to her feet, startling her in the process. Brutus started down the hill, covering a lot of distance in long strides. Naruto noticed the man in red was beating him and cried out in indignation. He grabbed hold of Yukie's hand and, despite her protest of 'don't even think-', he dashed down the hill, the princess flapping in the wind like a flag. He zipped past Brutus, covering the swordsman in snow. Naruto quickly realized, however, that stopping would be a problem. He was on a crash course with his lazy sensei, who stood silently by a tree, reading his book.

"Kakashi-sensei, watch out!" Naruto warned, and it seemed to work. Kakashi took one exaggerated step forward and shot his hand out, freeing Yukie from Naruto's grasp. He didn't even look up from his book.

Naruto, on the other hand, kept his momentum and was soon flying through empty space. He looked down at the forest below him, and a sudden fear of heights gripped him. He slowed, and stopped appearing to hover in mid air. He looked down, then sighed. _Aw, crud._ Then he fell, screaming like a girl, to the forest below. No one on his team bothered to make sure he was ok.

* * *

Kakashi's eye narrowed as he looked at the now snow-free swordsman before him, and he found himself indecisive. The man could most likely hold his own in a fight, but Kakashi had nothing on the man's motives. He didn't know why this guy was suddenly helpful. By helpful, at least in the ninja world, that means not trying to kill you.

The Copy Ninja closed his book and turned toward Brutus, stashing the novel for later reading. He nodded to the swordsman, who nodded back.

"I suppose you are the one that Dotou's been so worried about?" Kakashi ventured. _I don't know this guy's angle, so I have to stay on my toes._ The Copy Ninja reminded himself.

Brutus shrugged neutrally, his broad shoulders rising then falling. "I killed a few Snow ninja, then he sent a lieutenant after me." The crimson giant smirked at the memory. "I sent him back a little worse for the wear, is all."

Kakashi pondered the current situation, putting a hand to his masked chin and looking up. _So, we've got a common enemy at least. But he seems more interested in Naruto than Yukie, which in itself is odd...does he know about the demon?_ Kakashi decided to wheedle a little more information out of Brutus. He drew his hand away from his chin and pointed at Brutus.

"So, why exactly are so interested in my blonde student?" Kakashi went with the blunt option; it had its moments.

Brutus looked at Sakura, Sasuke, and the tied up Fubuki with a look of apprehension, and that in itself told Kakashi more than any awkward conversation could. His eye glinted in recognition, and he motioned for the swordsman to follow. Brutus obliged, and the two walked down the slope into the forest, toward where Naruto had landed.

* * *

_Ow. Why do things always backfire on me?_ Naruto whined mentally as he sat up, rubbing his aching head. He looked around to find that he was not out in the snow, but rather in the familiar sewer of his mindscape.

He automatically stood, water dripping from his clothes, and walked over to the large golden bars, or what was left of them. The paper was still fastened to the center lock, but most of the columns were absent. And on the other side, sat the resident red-haired beauty, Kamikirimusi. She smirked when he walked right past the cage and sat down in front of her. The look in his eyes was one of curiosity, and she was always happy to clear up confusion.

"What's up, kiddo? I seem to be a bank of information these days, if nothing else." She pouted mockingly, making Naruto stutter and try to defend himself.

"N-n-n-n-o, it's not like that! I visit loads of times, but... hey, that's not funny, making me feel guilty like that!" he finally caught on to her game, but still a bit slow for Kiri's taste.

_He's still a child,_ the demoness reminded herself. _I can't expect him to be Brutus; catching every subtle joke._ Kiri stretched her arms above her head, then put her hands behind her head in a relaxed position.

"So let me guess; you want to know the story behind the Trio of Immortals?" she said coolly. She had to fight back the urge to laugh at his confused expression.

"Who are they?" Kiri _did _almost laugh that time, and barely restrained it to a quiet snicker. She composed herself, however, and corrected Naruto's mistake.

"Brutus, Sairubi, and myself make up the Trio of Immortals, as we were called by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire." she explained, and she could see his other question coming before he voiced it. _He is so easy to read._ Kiri thought to herself.

"Otto-what now?" Naruto was really confused now; he knew that Kiri could live a long time, but Brutus too? And he had heard the term 'empire' in class, when he had woken himself up with his own snore. But there were no empires...were there?

"The _Ottoman Empire_," Kiri clarified, "was a country to the north-west of the continent, but it no longer exists." Naruto's eyes bulged at that little tidbit of information; Kiri and Brutus were older than a country!

"You're that _old_?" He asked incredulously, and quite tactlessly as well. He saw Kiri's amused smirk turn into a dark frown, and he sensed a disturbance in the Force, so to speak.

"Who said I was old?" she challenged hotly, her right hand gliding from behind her head over to her cleaver, which lay on the ground beside her. Naruto began to sweat, and cast around for a way out of another one of his fatal female encounters. (Those who know literary devices will understand the joke.)

"Old? I-I-I meant, eternally young! Yeah, that's it! I never meant old, you've just been...alive a lot longer than I have." He tried, and gave himself a mental pat on the back when Kiri stopped reaching for her sword and smiled at him.

"I'm glad you noticed." she chirped sweetly, and Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. She nearly giggled at his relieved expression. _Easy to read, easy to manipulate...oh dear, he's easy prey for a woman._ Kiri smirked at the thought. The boy was oblivious to subtlety, and his verbal blunders were frequent enough for him to receive several smacks over the head from an irate Sakura.

"Anyway, allow me to educate you on the history of the Trio of Immortals."

* * *

Kakashi cast a sideways glance at the taller swordsman beside him, scanning the man's expression. Brutus was walking slowly, but his longer stride kept pace with Kakashi's leisurely walk. His face was set in a troubled look, as if something he had recently learned pained him. Kakashi made a mental note of it then tilted his head up to look around at the tree branches.

_Intact...intact...broken...alright, the knucklehead should have landed somewhere near here._ He returned his gaze to the ground, searching for signs of his orange-clad student. Brutus snorted at the mundane method of searching, and concentrated, closing his eyes. He raised a finger into the air, next to his ear, and sat still for a moment. Kakashi watched with interest.

Brutus scanned the immediate area with his Soul Scan. If Naruto was anywhere near them, Brutus would pick up on his location. And sure enough, the crimson-clad warrior sensed a strong presence of two souls, just a few hundred feet south of the two adults. He pointed in the direction that he sensed the jinchurki, and Kakashi's eye followed. Brutus opened his eyes and marched forward, Kakashi at his side.

Deciding not to throw everything out when they got to Naruto, Kakashi started some preliminary questioning. "So," he began casually, "I take it that since you didn't want my other students around to here about your interest in Naruto, I surmise that this has to do with the demon sealed inside of him."

Brutus flinched at the word 'demon', but nodded anyway. "I have been friends with Kamikirimusi for some time now, longer than you have been alive, Mister..." he knew this game; trading information for information.

"Hatake. Kakashi Hatake at your service." Kakashi replied lazily, executing a half-assed bow in mid step. Brutus smirked at the Copy Ninja's attempt at humor.

"Well, let's just say that the boy's...tenant is a dear friend of mine, and it is in my interests to protect her, and by extension, him." Brutus explained, noticing the way Kakashi's eye widened slightly at the term 'her'.

"I see. So, you are friends with the Fox? I can say, I've heard of odd relationships, but I'm not sure they can stack up to that." Kakashi said wryly, while his thoughts raced. _If this guy is friends with the demon fox, I need to get my students away from him as soon as possible. He said that he wanted to protect Naruto, but I would bet my Icha Icha books that he wants that demon _out_._

"Why do you refer to her as 'the Fox'? Is that a nickname or something?" Brutus asked in genuine confusion. This confused Kakashi as well.

"Could you describe your version of this...Kamikirimusi? I think we may have differing demons here." Kakashi asked. Brutus had been so sure that the Fox _was_ Kamikirimusi, but there was always a chance.

Brutus sighed and looked up, in thought. "Well, last I saw of her, Kiri had a black battle kimono with red flames, blood-red hair, red eyes, two fox ears on her head, and a long red tail. She also walked around with a large sword, Soul Blaze." Brutus ticked off the characteristics on one hand, then lowered it and looked at Kakashi expectantly. "Yourself?"

Kakashi didn't need to think so hard; the image of the Nine-Tailed Fox had been burned into his mind, right next to the faces of those who had died trying to defeat it. "A fifty-story tall fox with nine tails, red fur, and glowing yellow eyes. And," Kakashi paused slightly, then added, "a rather nasty disposition."

Brutus nodded gravely, as if something had clicked. "Kiri only goes fox when she is fully enraged...but you said she had glowing yellow eyes?" Kakashi nodded at the question. "Interesting...the only thing that has yellow energy would be..." Brutus trailed off, then set his face into a scowl.

Kakashi blanched at Brutus' sudden change in behavior. _There is more going on with this than what I've seen,_ he realized. _Naruto has a lot of explaining to do._

The two stopped at a rather large pine tree, the green needles on its branches giving color to an otherwise dead forest. High up in the branches, however, there was a shade of orange disrupting the green. Kakashi sighed heavily when he found Naruto's position. He looked at Brutus.

"So...who gets to go get him?" Brutus cocked an eyebrow.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors. Loser climbs up and gets the boy." Brutus challenged. Kakashi nodded, and the two settled into stances, their hands hidden from each other's view. Brutus smirked and nodded, and Kakashi began the count.

"Rock...Paper...Scissors!" they cried in unison, then thrust their hands forward simultaneously. Kakashi's hand was clenched into a fist, signifying 'rock', while Brutus had two fingers out, standing for 'scissors'. Brutus's smirk contorted into a frown, and Kakashi gave him an eye smile.

"Loser climbs," he cheerfully reminded the fuming swordsman. Brutus shook his head and reached over his shoulder, grasping Buster by the handle. He drew the sword out of its sling and held it out to Kakashi.

"Hold, do not scratch." He said simply, then rubbed his hands together in preparation. He run and jumped up into the tree, hoisting himself up with upper body strength. Kakashi stood below him, using both hands just to keep the massive sword from falling over, and, God forbid, _scratching._

* * *

"I'll start with me, since I have been around the longest," Kiri began. She narrowed her eyes as he barely caught himself from mouthing 'old'. After he successful restraining his suicidal tendency to mouth off, she continued. "I escaped from Hell roughly seven hundred years ago, roughly during the dark ages." She stood and turned around, grasping her arms as if for warmth.

"There were a lot of us back then." she said quietly. "Demons walked the world alongside man, and were as diverse in personality as humans were." She turned around and faced Naruto, and he could see her red eyes crease with sadness. "But the humans hated us. We were different, evil, 'Hell-spawn'," she spat the invectives out, and anger crept into her words. "They tracked us down, one by one, and killed us or sealed us away. But there were some that knew compassion." Her voice leveled out and took on a calm tone.

"I came across a young girl under attack by a group of bandits. They wanted something from her that she was not willing to give, and they were trying to take it when I found them." She kept her answer vague, as rape wasn't something she wanted to explain to a thirteen year old. She watched as he struggled not to ask; he knew she kept things undetailed for a reason, but he didn't know why. After his little fidget fit, she continued.

"I slaughtered the bandits and saved the girl, who turned out to be the daughter of a priest. He thanked me profusely for saving his daughter, and offered me shelter at a nearby monastery. I accepted." Her voice cracked at the next part of the tale.

"But not all monks are as pure as they should be. A group of lower learners had heard that a demon was living in the monastery, and they plotted to defeat it." She seemed genuinely betrayed, even as she spoke of it.

"I said good night to the young girl and went to sleep. When I woke up, I was inside a teapot." She grit her teeth in anger. "The monk that offered me shelter was told that I ran off into the night, and that I stole a teapot. The truth was, I was sealed inside of it, and they hid me away. I could hear them, plotting, lying, all doing things that members of a holy order should never do." Her tone became detached, as if she was merely recollecting now.

"I was in that pot for many years. Apparently, it was passed down within the monastery as an ancient artifact, with some bogus story around that prevented people from coming into contact with it. Roughly four hundred years passed while I sat in that accursed china, and finally, I was freed." At Naruto's hopeful expression, she chuckled mirthlessly.

"I was freed by chance, not some righteous monk. Roughly five hundred years ago, an earthquake hit the monastery. The pot fell off whatever shelf or table it had sat upon for several centuries, and shattered, releasing me. I left the monastery inside the hour." She took a breath and sat back down, her back to her sword.

"When I ran outside, I found a world very different from the one I had left. Before I was sealed, demons walked the earth, plentiful as humans, while man fought amongst himself in small kingdoms and fortresses. When I was released, I found not a world of demons and small states, but one of man and a large sovereign country." Naruto frowned sadly at the sight of a lone tear rolling down her cheek. Kiri hugged her knees to her chest, staring forward as she recalled her story.

"The demons were all but gone. I was among the last of my kind, and man had long since taken the land. And when I stopped in villages, people did not curse or yell at me, but rather ran in fear. While in one of these villages, I heard tell of a cataclysmic battle in the Ottoman Empire." She spoke softly now, and Naruto scooted closer to hear. He had a saddened look on his face, advertising his worry for Kiri. She was hurting from retelling the past. But still, she continued.

"I made my way to the Ottoman Empire, and there I encountered Brutus. He and I both used large swords, we were both curious as to the origin of all this violence. We stuck together, and he taught me his style. After that, we reached a large tower, and we finally got down to the bottom of it. There were two swords; mythical, powerful, soul altering weapons of immeasurable power. And it was then that Brutus and I seperated. I wanted to see if there were demons here, and he wanted one of those swords. So, we climbed the tower separately, and met at the top. When I found him, he had defeated a being called Nightmare." She sniffled, the next part hard to say.

"He attacked me when I reached the top. He was...different. Arrogant. He argued with the sword, and it tried to force its will on him. But he fought it. It couldn't control him, so it granted him the power to remove souls, since it could not absorb them through Brutus. He attacked me with the sword, but he seemed...dissatisfied. The sword was too unwieldy, and it didn't fit his style. So he did something that no one in the world had ever done before: he cast the evil sword aside. He retained his ability to absorb souls, but to prolong his own life, not to feed the sword. It is the source of his power, and immortality." She perked up considerably, actually smiling. She looked up to see Naruto rather close, gazing at her with rapt attention. His wide eyes and raised eyebrows told Kiri that her audience was paying attention, to put it lightly. So she continued.

"I gave Brutus Buster, the sword you saw him holding. It was a custom sword, designed with a certain user in mind, although I got it off some dead guy. You can imagine how excited he was when I gave it to him. After that, we fought our way down the tower, past people who were trying to obtain the other sword. It was then that we encountered Sairubi, our third. When we ran into him, he was a member of an undead crew, captained by a demonic pirate named Cervantes. Long story short, we defeated Cervantes and freed the entire crew, and Sairubi tagged along. We found out that he too was immortal, but in a way similar to Brutus' soul absorption." Kiri clenched a hand in front of her (huge) chest, as if grasping her own heart. Naruto kept his eyes up, miraculously.

"When Sai defeats someone, he leaves them barely alive, the removes their beating heart." Naruto's face scrunched up in revulsion.

"Aw gross, he lives off of human hearts?" the blonde asked incredulously. Kiri chuckled at his question, though she could sympathize; Sai's methods were a bit gross.

"Yes, he does. He replaces his own heart when his gets too old, yet the rest of him remains the same. His other organs and such are immortal because of his tenure under Cervantes, but that old pirate left a loophole just in case. But Sai is a descendant of an ancient clan that allows him to do this. He even has a cousin somewhere on the continent that can do the same thing." She took another breath and continued, almost done.

"We took Sai with us to Istanbul, had all sorts of fun, and traveled the world as the Trio of Immortals. Those were some good times." Kiri looked up slightly, reminiscing on the memories with a small smile. Naruto thought she looked at peace, which was how she should always look, he realized. _She doesn't deserve the treatment she's been given. She's been mistreated by humans for most of her life, and now she's stuck inside me..._ He shook the thoughts from his head, and Kiri finished her tale.

"We stayed together for a while, then Sai ran off after his cousin. Brutus stashed his sword and came to live here, I guess. I roamed around for a while, then I heard that Nightmare had regained his body atop the tower. I went there, and fought him again." She proceeded to tell him what happened after the fight with Nightmare, and Naruto's wonder turned to shock.

_It wasn't even her fault! It was that stupid sword that made her do it!_ He looked down, as if guilty. He looked back up to see more tears streaming down her face, and it seemed that story time was over. But Naruto was never one to sit and let people cry. He crawled over to Kiri, staying low, and patted her on the shoulder. The kind gesture, however, had unforeseen consequences.

Kiri felt the contact, and instinctively threw her arms around the boy, sobbing with her chin on top of his head. Naruto was buried face-deep in her chest, and trying desperately not to pass out or get a nose bleed. Naruto blushed redder and redder as Kiri continued to cry. _Geez, it's not _that_ bad,_ he thought wearily. But then again, he was dealing with a demon that had been screwed over for a good portion of her life. And a woman. He had forgotten that hugs were generally a woman's defense mechanism.

So imagine his relief when he woke up in the Land of Snow.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to the sight of Kakashi and Brutus bending over him, both scrutinizing his face. Brutus leaned back and laughed heartily.

"See! I told you dropping him on his neck wouldn't kill him!" he said as he roared with laughter. Kakashi looked at the swordsman humorlessly.

"Do you have any idea what would happen if I were to bring him back dead?" he asked. Brutus just continued laughing.

* * *

I think that's my longest yet! As I said previously, I am beta-ing now, so these will come slower. But the story is picking up. I would also like to announce a sequel, though it will be far down the line. So far, I have most of the plot for this story done, and the ending has already been written. Enjoy!


	6. Infiltrate the Stronghold

Well, chapter five was the longest, and brought in a thousand hits in one day. I pat myself on the back for that one. Now, I plan to wipe the with this next one. I've noticed that a good bit of my hits are on the first chapter, which sucks. I want everyone to read the _entire story_ when they click on it. But I suppose that it's not the right one for some people. Oh well.

**Chapter 6: Infiltrate the Stronghold**

* * *

Naruto and Brutus trailed along behind Kakashi as the three walked through the woods, heading back to the ridge. Snowflakes started to fall from the darkening sky, and the temperature noticeably dropped several degrees. They would have to make camp. Brutus glanced over at Naruto, who was surprisingly quiet and contemplative. The boy was looking downward slightly, and his glazed look told Brutus that the boy was thinking hard. Which, from what he could tell of the kid, was unnatural.

"Hey, boy," Brutus broke the silence gruffly. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

Naruto started at his voice, the looked over at the crimson soldier. He still wore a thoughtful expression, but his eyes were back to their normal deep blue.

"Uh, well...I was wondering who this Sairubi guy was that Kiri keeps talking about. According to her, he was your buddy or something." Brutus smirked at the kid's question.

"So she told you, eh?" The swordsman asked, amused. Naruto nodded but kept looking forward. Kakashi kept his gaze forward as well, but the two following him knew he as listening intently.

"Well, how can I put this?" Brutus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Sai was a member of a ghost crew, captained by Cervantes the Damned. Cervantes required souls to live." He tapped the breastplate of his paladin armor. "Just like me. So he enslaved certain people to go about collecting souls. Sairubi was one of them." He looked ahead, to see the edge of the ridge approaching. The hill they climbed became steeper, and they had to lean forward to keep their momentum.

"Sairubi uses dual swords, completely different from the style Kiri and I use. His style is easy to learn as well, since it is just learning one style then using both hands.." Brutus paused. "Well, that and a prodigious ability to manipulate wind chakra." This caused Naruto to get curious again.

"Wind chakra? I thought there was only chakra." Kakashi turned to look back at Naruto, a hesitant look in his eye.

"Well, we haven't gotten to that part of your training yet, but every person has an elemental alignment." He explained, dropping into tutor mode. "I was going to test you guys for your affinities when we got back, but since it's come up, I suppose we could do it when we get back to camp." Naruto threw a fist into the air.

"Yeah! Does this mean we can learn new jutsu?" He asked loudly, practically begging for the answer to be yes.

"He's a spunky one, I see." Brutus commented dryly. Kakashi only nodded.

"Well, it depends on your alignments. If you're lucky, you could even have two." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

The snow fell harder now, and had they not been so close to camp, they would have been lost in a blizzard. The trio trudged up the last bit of the hill, then crested it to find the trucks, tents, and crew of their clients. Brutus slowed his steps while the two ninja walked ahead. It wouldn't be right to just walk in unannounced.

"Hey guys, we're back!" Leave it Naruto to act like a herald. Kakashi winced at Naruto's volume and proximity, then gave a lazy wave to his awaiting team. Sakura, Sasuke, and the long-thought-dead Sandayuu all sat around a fold out table, situated under an awning. Apparently, Sandayuu had run off to get help, but returned upon seeing the Snow ninja so soundly defeated. Workers ran too and fro, setting up tents and awnings, and preparing to make dinner. The white-haired director appeared to be negotiating with Yukie. Well, he was, until she slammed the door to her truck in his face. The force behind the slam caused some snow to shake loose from the roof of the truck, burying the aged director up to his waist in snow.

Kakashi and Naruto walked up to the other half of Team 7 together, and three empty chairs awaited them. Sasuke looked up at Naruto's appearance, but he didn't seem surprised to find the blonde not dead. For some reason, that both put Naruto at ease and infuriated him. _He knew Brutus wasn't going to kill me...BUT HE DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT IT!_ Naruto not-so-discreetly flipped Sasuke the bird, only to be smacked across the back of the head by Kakashi. Kakashi looked around the tent to see their captive huddled in a corner. The Snow ninja narrowed her eyes at Kakashi, who just shrugged and turned toward the exit.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet a friend of Naruto's...well, sorta." He beckoned, and Brutus walked up. Sasuke's surprise was only shown in the slight widening of his eyes, while Sakura gaped at the large man. _Where did Naruto run into this guy?_

Brutus nodded to Sasuke and Sakura, then looked back at Kakashi.

"And who are these fine pupils?" he asked smoothly. Kakashi pointed at Sasuke first, then moved right.

"Well, this is Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last of the Uchiha clan," Sasuke nodded. "And this is Sakura Haruno, the brains behind our team." Sakura blushed and waved shyly. Kakashi turned toward Naruto, who was posing dramatically. "And... you already know Naruto." The blonde seemed to deflate like a balloon at the abbreviated introduction, but Brutus got the picture.

"I see. I take it your job is to protect the princess, yes?" Kakashi nodded in an affirmative, wondering where this was going. Brutus sighed heavily, then rolled his eyes.

"I suppose I could help you take out Dotou, seeing as he and I aren't on the friendliest terms." He jerked a thumb toward Naruto, who was poking the bound and gagged Fubuki in the cheek as the fuming kunoichi glared at him. "My main priority is to keep him alive long enough to get Kamikirimusi out of him and into her real body. So don't expect me to put the princess before him."

Naruto quit bugging Fubuki (who was glaring holes in his head), and turned toward Brutus, a confused expression on his face.

"Her real body? Where is that?"

Brutus shrugged, but he seemed utterly serious.

"If she was sealed into you, then her real body was left behind. One cannot seal a body into another body. So it's either lying in the forest where she was sealed," he narrowed his eyes and glanced toward Kakashi, "or, it has been taken by someone. My best bet is on the latter; no one would leave a beautiful woman like her laying out in the woods, even if she was dead." Naruto didn't meet Brutus' eyes when he said 'beautiful'; the boy knew that was an understatement. Kakashi, however, was skeptical.

"Real body? Beautiful woman? I'm sorry, Brutus, but I think you need to fill me in on some things. I don't think we're on the same page here." The Coy Ninja said with an expectant look, eyebrow cocked and arms crossed.

"Hey don't look at me." Brutus said, holding his hands up defensively. "Naruto should have your answers, or Kiri at least." Kkashi looked back at Naruto, who was starting to get paranoid from all the attention. And when he gets paranoid...

"W-w-well, Kiri definitely is a g-g-g-girl, _that's_ for sure." He said hesitantly. Brutus grimaced at the choice of words, and somehow, Naruto knew he was going to be fucked with during his next conversation with the red-haired demoness. But he still continued shakily.

"She said that she was e-e-enraged on t-t-the night of the attack, and took her fox form." He finished strongly. He wasn't explaining anything he had done wrong, after all. But with Sasuke and Sakura here, things were becoming a little worrisome. Kakashi would have to explain it to them, and then...would they shun him like the other villagers?

"So, her living, breathing body is in Konoha, most likely." Brutus concluded with a sense of finality. Kakashi's eye creased with confusion at the shallow explanation.

"So you're telling me," he said slowly, "that the fox is a _she_, and she used to walk the earth as a human. What else, does she swing around a huge sword, too?" he asked in jest with a hesitant laugh. Brutus and Naruto looked at each other and grinned, then back at Kakashi. The Copy Ninja chuckled nervously, then his shoulders slumped. "You're kidding me?" Naruto shook his head a little more vigorously than Brutus, but they were still in sync. The scene was actually quite comical.

A thump and a muffled 'dammit!' got the attention of the assembled warriors. They all turned to see the still bound Fubuki no longer in her corner, but rather inch-worming her way out of the tent, butt in the air. She froze when they all looked at her, and Kakashi walked over to her in a few steps. He knelt down and removed the tape from her mouth, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Now that you have our attention," Kakashi began, "why don't you tell us about that base of yours?"

* * *

Kenpachi Aizen stared at the security camera display with a bored look on his face. He wore a dark face mask and light gray fatigues, the Snow standard for off duty of light duty clothing. His black hair stood up in spikes, all on top of his head. He yawned and stretched lazily, then returned his green eyes to the security monitors. All day, he had to watch one camera. And, as far as his superiors knew, it was the only channel Kenpachi got. But secretly, Kenpachi had a small camera elsewhere, and it was just about time for it to be utilized.

Kenpachi glanced behind him, and the darkened security room was empty. He was alone with his mountain of pizza boxes and small monitor. Grinning pervertedly, Kenpachi giggled and flicked a switch at the side of the monitor, and the scene changed from a wall on the outside of the fortress to a tiled, white room with faucets and showerheads. And, to Kenpachi's immediate nosebleed, extremely naked women. He drooled and giggled some more, and watched the screen with rapt attention as the women went about their showerly duties, unaware of their peeping tom.

A noise disturbed Kenpachi's perving, and he turned around sharply. His door was still closed, and no one was there. Relaxing, Kenpachi turned back to his monitor and looked at the girls uncertainly this time. _Maybe I should get back to surveillancing,_ Kenpachi thought to himself. He flicked the switch, and the screen went back to the concrete wall he was assigned to. He continued to watch the area, completely unaware that the task he had been assigned to had been failed. He noticed the broken grating near the edge of the camera, but dismissed it without too much thought. And so, with such small pretense, the assault on the Snow Fortress had begun.

* * *

Fubuki groaned for what had to be the millionth time. She kept going regardless, leading the team of four through the – cliché alert – ventilation shafts of the fortress. If helping the enemy wasn't embarrassing enough, the loud blonde kid had fastened a _leash_ around her neck to prevent her escape. A leash, of all things! The Snow kunoichi crawled ahead, the mortifying article danging behind her for a few feet, only to be met by the clenched fist of Naruto. The blonde crawled just behind Fubuki, with Sasuke and Sakura close behind. Sasuke was secretly grumbling about the retarded plan, while Sakura was shamelessly checking out Sasuke's ass (which I SHALL NOT describe).

The four made their way through the vents with very little noise, aside from Fubuki's constant groans of agony and embarrassment. Below them, token guards and lazy ninja lolled about, none of them really occupied with anything. That was a double edged sword: they wouldn't be too sharp as lookouts, but they would have ample time to investigate any suspicious activity.

The four ninja made their way through a series of turns; right, left, left, right; until they came to a part of the vent that ended going toward the ground. Fubuki stopped, causing the three following her to do so as well.

"There," she spat quietly, "I've lead you inside, now let me go!" Sasuke chortled behind her, and Sakura just giggled. Fubuki looked back, concerned, only for the sandal of a certain orange-clad shinobi to meet her rear, and send her out of the vent and face first onto the ground. She landed painfully, but the force knocked her out. She sat vertically for a moment, then tipped over, unconscious. The three genin behind her landed gracefully inside the room, then they looked around in wonder.

The room had no overhead lights, but only because it didn't need any. A large screen took up most of the western wall, and a computer console sat underneath it. Several smaller monitors hung on the sides, showing camera feeds from around the fortress. Mess hall, bathrooms, the main chamber; all were on display. This was their destination, alright.

Sasuke moved swiftly, jogging over to the computer and examining it. It was a large mainframe central control platform, one that wasn't password protected. Whoever had designed the system had thought that hundred of feet of concrete and hundreds of soldiers would prevent hostiles from entry. With a smirk, the Uchiha went to work capitalizing on the architects' mistake. Naruto and Sakura moved the dead-to-the-world Fubuki over to the corner and, per her request, untied the leash. The two genin met their third at the command console, and soon Sasuke began typing rapidly.

"Kakashi-sensei and Brutus are at sub-door 4A, on the 4th basement floor." He said while working. His fingers danced across the keys, and several commands made their ways across the screen above. Sakura and Naruto gazed up in wonder as a camera feed popped up in a miniature window, showing a solid door with a blinking red light next to it. Sasuke smirked, then punched the 'execute' key with some force. The light on screen went from flashing red to steady green, and the door opened upward to reveal Kakashi and Brutus, both of whom had their weapons drawn. Naruto slapped Sasuke on the back in approval, then turned to the door.

"Now that those two are in," he moved closer to the main door, cocking his hand back. "We should get this party started!" He punched the keypad beside the door, crushing vital circuits and triggering the door release. The large heavy door slid upward to reveal a long corridor, empty of soldiers. The three genin dashed out, and the door closed behind them.

* * *

Kakashi and Brutus slinked silently toward a corner, their blades ready. Kakashi had a kunai held just below his chin, point down. Brutus, who had Buster, merely kept his blade in front, the spikes perilously close to Kakashi's back. The two moved ahead and stopped at the corner. Kakashi peeked around it, checking the area.

He found an identical dark hallway, equally empty. On the right wall, however, there was a rather elaborately designed door. It was made of oak, and colored a dark red with gold laid into an indiscernable pattern. The handles were decorate with intertwining dragons, and also made of gold. Keeping his eye on the door, Kakashi motioned behind him, and he and Brutus moved out from behind the corner tooward the door.

Kakashi halted at the door, and Brutus took the other side. The large handles stuck out more than normal, which signified that whatever was behind the door was big. Brutus looked at Kakashi and nodded. The Copy Ninja gave him a nod in return, and Brutus grabbed the gold handle with one hand. With a grunt of effort, he swiftly jerked open the door, and the two warriors ran...right into a brick wall.

Startled, both fell back with a loud crash of metal on stone, courtesy of Brutus's paladin gear. In front of them was a door, yes, but just above it was a sign that read, 'Royal Entrance Template 4'. Apparently, it was a _test _door. Brutus looked back over at Kakashi with an exasperated expression. Kakashi gave him a deadpan look.

"We will never speak of this again." The two said in unison. And with that, they stood and stalked down the hallway.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke lead the way down the corridor, Sakura close behind. Sasuke seemed to be following a mental map, one he memorized from the control room. He lead the two others right, then left, then left again. They ran through the surprisingly empty fortress, and even Naruto was getting suspicious.

"Surely we would have run into someone by now," he said apprehensively. Sasuke grunted in agreement, and Sakura nodded. Sasuke took another right, and they found themselves at a dead end with a set of gray metal double doors. Sasuke held up a hand, and the other two stayed put. He moved forward slowly, the only sound being the scrape of his ninja sandals on the cold stone floor. He grasped the handle firmly, and swallowed. If he was right, then the throne room was on the other side. Naruto and Sakura tensed, each with a kunai in hand.

The Uchiha prodigy turned the handle slowly, then yanked the door open. And immediately wished he hadn't.

* * *

Fubuki groaned as she opened her eyes groggily. She found herself lying on the floor in the control room, and the leash was gone. She rubbed her neck in relief, then finally recognized her surroundings. Elated, the Snow kunoichi ran over to the control console. She typed in commands quickly, her dexterity staggering even to the author. (And that's fast!) She ran through several security programs, until she found the camera for the throne room.

On screen, Mizore and Nadare stood at the bottom of Dotou's throne stairs. They had repaired armor, and the only sign of Mizore's previous injuries was a bandage just below his eye. Fubuki almost his the intercom to let them know about the Konoha shinobi, but something stayed her hand. Curiosity getting the better of her, the Snow kunoichi turned up the speakers to listen in on the conversation.

_"So, we're down to two now." _Nadare said in a bored tone, which made Fubuki frown. Normally, he was respectful at least to her.

_"Ah, don't worry about it you two. She was JUST a kunoichi. You can't expect a woman to be able to complete a man's job."_ Dotou said cooly. The two shinobi laughed at their superior's joke, unaware of their audience. Fubuki stared at the monitor blankly. She couldn't really explain the feeling inside, but she clutched at her chest anyway. She had known that the other two were more powerful, but such disregard at even her memory? Even as she watched, Nadare and Mizore continued to laugh at Dotou's cruel joke. A hollow feeling settled into Fubuki's gut, and the Snow kunoichi's hurt look turned to a glare as her gaze fell on Dotou. The dictator kept chuckling at his rather stale joke, but the cold fury running through Fubuki made him seem less humored and more like he was having a heart attack.

_How dare they?_ The Snow kunoichi thought indignantly. _To sit there and MOCK me, even when they think I'm dead... that's not the team I signed on to..._

Fubuki let her gaze fall to the computer controls, and a flashing red button caught her eye. A triangular button at the top right of the keyboard glowed crimson, and written across it was the word 'terminate'. With a smirk, Fubuki dangled a finger over the button.

"Good idea," she muttered mirthlessly to the button. Her dangling finger morphed into a fist, and Fubuki brought it down with feminine rage, nearly breaking the console. She looked up to see the video feed wink out, and turned her attention to another monitor. Just as she did so, she caught sight of the big man and the Leaf jounin running down a hallway.

"The enemy of my enemy..." Fubuki trailed off, her thoughts racing. The kunoichi frowned, then punched up some more commands. She was going to bring this whole damn place down; from the _inside_.

* * *

And, cut! I really liked doing this chapter, because I wanted to show that leaders, when certain that an asset is gone, will show their true opinion about it. And Dotou just destroyed himself by making that little crack. Enjoy the beat down next chapter!


	7. Dotou's Folly

I humbly apologize for deleting Fox Under a Sakura Tree. It was too much for me to handle three stories at a time, and when I look back at how I was going to end it, it felt retarded. So I scrapped it, and am now focusing on my two others. This is still my main one, however, so don't be down! And now we'll conclude the conflict of the Snow!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Dotou's Folly**

Sasuke just sighed heavily as his teammates gaped. Naruto and Sakura stood on either side of him, jaws connected to the floor and eyes wide. And they were getting stares right back.

Instead of leading them to the throne room of Dotou, he had unwittingly led his two friends to the worst place in the fortress: the mess hall. There were over a hundred shinobi staring at the three genin, all in various stages of break. Some were standing in line to receive their food. Others were seated at some tables, while still more were leaning against walls and talking casually. Or, at least, they had been. Now, every set of eyes were locked on Team 7.

"Uh, Sasuke. I think you got the room wrong." Naruto said, fitting into the Captain Obvious role quite nicely. He reached into his kunai holster, and the others mimicked him. The Snow shinobi stopped staring and went from orderly hungry people to a gang of bandits.

"Well well, look who's here?"

"Do the kiddies wanna play?"

"No reason to give them the _cold shoulder_, right guys?"

Several more jeers and taunts came from the assembled Snow ninjas, and Team 7 gave a collective gulp at the sight of a hundred adult shinobi heading their way. Fortunately, all of the Snow ninjas were unarmed, though it was a small comfort. Naruto felt an unsettling feeling slip into the pit of his stomach. _We can beat these guys...right?_ He shook his head, but his uncertainty remained. Sakura frowned at the number of shinobi facing them, then resheathed her kunai.

The assembled ninjas smirked at the manuever, thinking she was going to give up. Until they heard the rolling crack of the pinkette popping her knuckles. Sasuke smirked at the somewhat hesitant expressions on the nearer shinobi, and Naruto's grin came back full force. He put his fingers into the familiar cross seal, then shouted defiantly, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A huge cloud of smoke obscured the genin for a moment, and the cloud extended quite a ways into the hallway. The Snow shinobi all stepped back, suddenly hesitant. A jounin in the back smirked, then threw a kunai into the smoke. The blade parted the cloud of vapor easily, and the wet smack of metal on flesh was heard. The sound was enough to rally the troops, and they all got into various stances, eagerly awaiting the dissipation of the smoke.

The obscuring tan haze finally cleared, and there was a collective gasp from the Snow shinobi. Looking back at them, standing in a HUGE crowd behind the genin team, was a sea of orange and blonde. In the front, one of them had a kunai in its hand. Naruto chuckled foxily and grinned, then pointed a finger at the cafeteria and yelled one word.

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!"

* * *

Fubuki typed away st the console, pausing only to look up to survey her work. In the lower areas, there were several generators with cooling systems and emergency shut down protocols. _Don't need those,_ she thought wryly, and several more commands left the generators vulnerable and running hot. She surmised that it would take a few minutes, then they would overheat and go critical. Several electrical generators exploding not only knocked out the power, but since they were in the basement, the very foundation of the fortress would be at risk.

She tried to continue her sabotage, but a camera of the mess hall caught her eye. She pulled it up on the main screen and nearly fell over with guffaws at the sight. On the camera screen, several clones of the blonde kid were beating the stuffing out of the assembled Snow ninja. Four clones had a man bound, while a fifth clone gave him the noogie of his life. Another group of clones had pants several shinobi, and were beating the crap out of them as they struggled to lift their pants. One particularly good part was a man in the back with a trash can on his head. As Fubuki watched, a clone disappeared behind the man and with a brutal yank, stretched his underwear to encompass the entire trash can, while the other dopplegangers fell to the ground laughing. The canned man's high-pitched shrieks could be heard over the speakers.

Fubuki snickered and chuckled at her ex-fellow Snow shinobi and their misfortune, then made to close the screen. Her hand was stopped by a large metal gauntlet slamming into the computer console. The defector jumped back with a cry of alarm, and the metal hand removed itself from the sparking console with a crunch, then retracted backwards. She turned to follow it only to come eye to eye with a furious Mizore.

"Fubuki," he said dangerously, "what do you think you are doing?"

The ex-Snow ninja smirked, then pointed at him accusingly.

"I heard what you guys said about me. 'Good riddance', you say. 'Just a kunoichi'. Well how do you like me now?" She said, sweeping her hand over the screen. Mizore followed her hand with his gaze to see the carnage. A generator exploded on camera, and several monitors went dead. On another screen, the one-eyed Leaf shinobi and the man with the large sword ran side by side, headed for the throne room. On still another camera, a team of three genin (well, two distinctive genin and a sea of blondes) was destroying the shinobi garrison in the mess hall. He felt the fury that had receded moments ago come back full force, and he grit his teeth in anger. The large Snow ninja sent a bone-crushing punch toward his ex-teammate, one that she deftly jumped over. She landed behind the gargantuan shinobi and turned sharply.

"So this is how it ends: the beauty versus the brute." She said, an air of finality creeping into her voice. In truth, she was slightly saddened by the end of her tenure as a member of their team. There had been good times, sparce as they were. But with the welcome she had received, and the general dislike she had for Dotou, things compiled against them. Fubuki settled into a stance, and Mizore mirrored her. With two shouts of rage, the ex-teammates clashed.

* * *

Naruto smirked at the remaining Snow shinobi in victory. After single-handedly (if you count the clones) defeating most of the Snow ninjas, only the most hardy remained. They had beaten his clones with only a little trouble, and were currently glaring at the three genin. There were four of them, and they were all garbed in the standard Snow shinobi gear: light grey suit with functional pouches and white masks that covered their heads completely, except for their eyes and the bridges of their noses.

The leader, a tall man in the middle, dashed forward, and Naruto rushed to meet him head on. The two collided head on, kunai grating against each other. Naruto pushed furiously against the older man, gritting his teeth and grunting in effort. But even with his strength, the older, larger man pushed him back. Naruto slowly slid backward as the Snow ninja pushed him, and he started to worry a little bit. Sasuke and Sakura dashed past him to hit the other three. Sounds of clashing kunai and fists meeting flesh echoed from behind the Snow leader. Naruto smirked at the Snow leader, who retaliated angrily with a knee toward Naruto's jaw.

The blonde caught the incoming strike with his free hand, then looked up to find a punch coming for his face. He ducked and retracted his kunai, trying to uppercut the Snow ninja. His adversary rolled backwards and kicked both legs out, catching Naruto right in the chest. The blonde was sent back into the wall with a cry of pain, and he slumped forward. When he recovered, he found the Snow ninja very close, a kunai on its way to his face. Naruto jerked his head to the side, barely in time. The knife continued past Naruto into the wall, and stayed there, stuck. Its owner tried in vain to pull it out, then caught a well placed punch to the chin. The Snow ninja grunted in pain, sliding backwards from the force of the punch. He looked back toward the blonde with a snarl on his face, only to find that said blonde had one of his subordinates in a headlock. The other two Snow ninja were trading blows with Sasuke and Sakura, both of whom were cut in places. Sasuke had a purple budding bruise on his right cheek, but he didn't seem to notice it. The leader smirked at Naruto's sudden bout of foolishness. He disappeared in a shimmer.

Only to reappear right behind Sakura. He grabbed her arms and held them to her sides, preventing her from doing anything. Sakura gasped and tried to wriggle free, but the man had a grip of iron. The Snow leader chuckled and picked up the pinkette by her arms, then walked over to the wall opposite of the door. All the other combatants noticed him and his captive, and the three Snow ninja all moved behind their leader. Sasuke and Naruto stood there, glaring at the leader.

"Ha ha ha! We've got your precious kunoichi friend here, so don't do anything stupid!" He laughed uproarously. Sasuke and Naruto both flinched at the situation. They slowly put their kunai into their holsters, and the Snow leader laughed again.

"See? As soon as you take the weak little girl hostage, the others fold like a house of cards." He said smugly to his men. They all gave various versions of approval, though they didn't see the fearful looks on Naruto and Sasuke's faces. Sakura's head fell, her hair covering her eyes, but not the clenched teeth of a furious kunoichi.

"Uh, sure, whatever...we're going to run this way now." Naruto said nervously. He and Sasuke turned on their heels and ran, with a parting "Bye!" for good measure. The Snow ninjas blinked in surprise, then looked back at the captured kunoichi. She was almost shaking, and the leader took it that she was crying.

"Aww," he purred out, "is the wittle kunoichi all sad and lonely?" His goons guffawed behind him. He turned to grin at them, then felt inexorable pain. The kind of pain that can only be generated by having your testicles painfully abused. And in this case, a chakra-enhanced heel to the crotch had done it. The poor Snow ninja dropped Sakura with a cry of anguish, and his subordinates clustered around him. "Boss!"

They all heard a strange cracking sound, and turned to see the pinkette that they had captured only seconds before. She cracked her knuckles again, and lifted her head to reveal eyes white with fury. The Snow ninjas flinched in fear, then shared one thought: _we're screwed_. Sakura cocked back a fist and roared, "WHO'S A LITTLE WEAKLING?"

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke ran fast and hard. There were few things that could make an Uchiha and a jinchuriki. An angry woman was one of them. As they ran, cries of anguish and pain followed them, along with the ever present "CHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" of a Sakura smackdown. They hastened their steps, and zipped around a corner.

"You'd think that they would know the fury of a girl," Sasuke said breathlessly as they ran. The two pounded down the dim hallway. Overhead, the weak lights flickered, and the two stopped. One by one, the flourescent lights went out, shrouding the hallway in darkness by blocks. One layer went out, then another, then another. Soon, the entire pathway was covered in the inky blackness.

Sasuke groaned in exasperation, then reached out toward his teammate.

"Naru-" A girlish shriek assaulted the young Uchiha's ears before he could finish.

"WHO"S THERE?" Naruto actually had lungs larger than Sakura's, and a higher pitched squeal, too.

"It's me, you idiot. Why did the lights go out?" Even in the inky blackness, Sasuke could envision Naruto's clueless shrug.

"I dunno. Maybe Kakashi-sensei and Brutus did something." The blonde's cluelessness did little to help the situation, but Sasuke could see the sense in his hypothesis. The Uchiha sighed heavily and grabbed Naruto's arm. He extended his other hand toward the wall, and smirked when he felt the touch of cold concrete on his fingertips.

"Come on, loser. This way." And with that, the two genin made their way deeper into the base.

* * *

Kakashi and Brutus bowled over a surprised Snow ninja, the grey clad man bouncing along the hallway. He looked up in wonder at the two adults, seconds before they turned a corner and were gone.

Brutus increased his speed, his heavy footfalls and clattering armor becoming louder as he outdistanced Kakashi. The scarecrow allowed Brutus to pass, and the large paladin took a right at the fork in the hallway and stopped infront of a large door. Kakashi slid to a stop behind him, and he took in the sight.

Before them was a very large pair of iron doors. There were no elaborate carvings, decorations, or odd features, save the large bolts running along the frames. Kakashi had no doubt that this door was meant to withstand quite the beating. The doors were roughly twenty feet across, and were definitely thick. Unfortunately, there weren't any signs of a doorknob, switch, or lever. Just the gray face of an obstinate door.

Brutus set a hand under his chin in a thinking pose, and he wracked his brain for a solution. Kakashi examined the area around the door, wondering. _Maybe there's a false brick or some sort of subtle switch,_ the Copy Ninja pondered. He reached up to his headband and lifted the blue strap of cloth to reveal an eye, closed off to the world. Brutus turned just in time to see the eye open, and Kakashi looked around the room quickly. As the jounin scanned the area, Brutus examined the odd eye closely. It was a red eye, which in itself was peculiar. But accompanying the pupil were three tear-shaped marks, and the marks seemed to spin as the Leaf ninja made his examination. Brutus blinked, then the realization finally hit him: he was looking at the legendary Sharingan Eye.

Kakashi's enhanced vision scanned the area near the door in earnest, and he chuckled good naturedly as his eye fixed upon a brick near the large door. It was exactly 0.007 centimeters out of place, not flush with the rest of the wall. Kakashi lowered his headband over the Sharingan and reopened his other eye. He pointed to the offending stone, and Brutus pressed on it. The brick retracted slowly into the wall, and a rumble echoed from some unknown location. On cue, the large metal doors began to swing outwards, the light from inside blinding the two men. Kakashi grunted and shielded his eye, and Brutus brought up a gauntlet-covered hand to protect his own. The rumbling continued, and the doors opened wider and wider, and slowly the two became accustomed to the bright light. The doors opened fully, to reveal a very large room ahead. A rather large throne room, to be exact. And seated at the top of a riduculously tall staircase, sat Dotou.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke bumbled their way down the hall slowly, running into walls and each other very often. The two were both irritated beyond compare, but they continued their blind trek through the dark corridors. As they moved, they stayed silent, apart from the grunt of frustration whenever they encountered a wall or the back of each other.

The two miffed genin continued on their journey, and slowly, light began to creep into the hallway. Naruto was the first to notice, and he shouted in triumph.

"Sasuke, look! We must be getting close to something." The loud blonde said enthusiastically. His raven-haired friend grunted in agreement, and the two rushed forward. As the light cleared away the darkness, they were able to see Kakashi and Brutus standing on the other side of a large threshold. The two adults were looking up at something, or someone. Determined not to be left out to dry, Sasuke and Naruto poured on the speed, and zipped into the deceptively large throne room. When they slid to a halt next to the taller men, they looked up to see a man with dark brown hair and elaborate looking robes sitting on a finely chiselled throne. _This must be Dotou,_ Naruto thought to himself, and he frowned up at the large man.

Dotou smirked and stood, his long robes folding and straightening silently as he moved. He swept both arms out to his sides, as if welcoming some famous guests... which he kinda was.

"Now that you four are here, I guess we can get started." The evil dictator said sinisterly. And from his side stepped Nadare Roga, who also wore a sinister grin. The Konoha team tensed, ready for a fight. Kakashi sprang first, jumping into the air. Nadare leapt to meet him, and the two came together in a flash of sparks and the screech of metal on metal.

* * *

Not motivated enough to stuff the ending all in one chapter. So I'm going to leave you guys with this while I recuperate from some debilitating turkey I had last night. Toodles.


	8. A Dish Best Served Cold

Ah, shit. I've fallen into one of those ruts in life. I just got layed off, I have to pay to replace something expensive, _and_ my grades are plummeting. A wise person once said, "Fuck my life." But never fear, readers! So long as I have power and a computer, I shall continue to-

Everything goes dark-

Fuck.

* * *

**Chapter 8: A Dish Best Served Cold**

Fubuki grimaced and ducked under another metal fist, then spun around the following uppercut. Using the momentum, the kunoichi lashed out with a spin kick to Mizore's side, only for the giant to block it. The large man grinned sinisterly, and grabbed the woman's leg. Fubuki gasped in alarm, then in pain when Mizore spun around and around, before throwing her into the computer console. A spark of pain ran down her back, and the ex-Snow shinobi crumpled to the ground.

Mizore stalked forward, his large, flat face crumpled into a sneer. The gargantuan shinobi reached down and grabbed Fubuki by the collar of her uniform and hoisted her up effortlessly. Fubuki's eyes went wide as her source of air was constricted, and the helpless kunoichi pummeled Mizore's arm in a futile attempt to escape. Mizore's iron grip remained so however, and the kunoichi's thoughts became sluggish. Her vision blurred, the edges becoming fuzzy as her lungs cried out for air.

_Is this...how it...ends?_ The kunoichi closed her eyes as the darkness caressed her in its warm embrace. She fell unconscious and limp in Mizore's grip, and the large man frowned. He released Fubuki's neck and grabbed her around the waist. With the kunoichi under his arm, Mizore turned back to the doorway and began to make his way back to the throne room. He walked under the large metal blast door, and looked down at the unconscious woman again. That sneer came back, and he considered killing the traitor right then and there.

_Nadare and Lord Dotou have no idea she's still alive. I could snap her puny neck right now, and no one would be the wiser..._ Mizore chuckled darkly, and made a move to do just that. He readjusted his grip on his ex-teammate and grabbed the woman by her shoulders. He placed a massive hand on the crown of the girl's head, and her hair tickled the insides of his fingers. The feeling caused him to pause, but only momentarily. The giant set his shoulders, then his arm began to move. Time slowed. Fubuki's head turned slowly, ever so slowly. Mizore's sneer grew as her head swiveled in his grip, sure that he would have one less problem to deal with. Then, when all seemed lost for the heroic Snow kunoichi, the unthinkable happened.

"CHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

A feminine fist slammed into the side of Mizore's face, his eyes wide with shock. The assailant then released her chakra in one burst, and the giant was sent flying into a nearby wall, his victim falling in a heap on the floor. Sakura stepped into the light and knelt next to the unconscious kunoichi. With a steady hand, the genin checked Fubuki's pulse, and sighed in relief when she felt the steady throbbing of a working artery.

Sakura turned her attention to the Mizore-sized crater in the wall, and stiffened when she saw an irate Mizore stepping out of the rubble. His sneer had turned into a snarl of rage, and his beady black eyes were as wide as they could be.

"You little bitch. I'll make sure you pay for that." Sakura smirked cockily and thumbed her nose. This only served to increase the giant's fury.

"You guys always look down on us kunoichi. I'm here to say that today, you'll _die_ by a kunoichi." Sakura breathed out, her eyes hardened by determination. Mizore clenched his metal fist and roared his anger, then sent the steel gauntlet towards the genin. Sakura set her stance and caught the glove with one hand, then reached around to grasp the cable connecting it to Mizore. The Snow ninja tried to withdraw his hand, but it was held in the hands of a determined kunoichi, so he wasn't getting it back soon. Sakura made the absence permanent. With a mighty heave, she pulled more cable out, until the line stopped and Mizore leaned forward a bit. His beady eyes were wide with shock, and then they conformed with his face to fit his look of rage.

"How _dare_ you mess with my arm! You'll pay for this, Pinky!"

Sakura smirked and tugged almost playfully on the cable in her hands, and the whole thing tore out from Mizore's wrist, to the large man's immediate rage. He glared at the kunoichi, but made no move to re-attach it. That meant that the arm behaved like any other arm: not re-attachable.

"Oops..."

* * *

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed dangerously, and he gripped his kunai tighter. Beside him, Brutus grasped the hilt of Buster and drew it out of its sling. Naruto and Sasuke tensed, their eyes glued to the two figures above them.

Dotou and Nadare stood imperiously at the top of those ridiculously tall stairs, sneering down on the ones beneath them. And in Dotou's mind, it was exactly that: they were beneath him. He was the Lord of the Snow, an elite ninja and well-known tyrant. Brutus was a paladin, a member of some long forgotten sect of warriors, and a rebel. Kakashi was a lowly jounin, without a hint of regal blood or splendor. The two boys were lower than him, mere genin. What did he have to fear from this group of weaklings?

"You know, gentlemen," Dotou said snidely, "I can still give you a chance to surrender. Your deaths would be painless, I promise." Nadare chuckled beside him, but their audience was less than amused.

Naruto grit his teeth and locked eyes with the tyrant, his blue orbs filled with determination and distaste. The cocky man was _really_ getting on his bad side.

"What point would that have?" Kakashi shot back sternly. "You care not for the people of this country. We've seen them; the starving, the homeless, the sick. You have abandoned your people, Dotou."

The evil leader snorted derisively, then waved his hand in a dismissive fashion. "The people of this land are fine. They can afford to house my troops and pay taxes. Besides, so long as they pay, I couldn't care less about their petty problems. I am a leader, not a mother."

Naruto was taken aback, to say the least. That was his reasoning? If someone could pay taxes, they weren't his problem? The boy shook with anger as he glared at Dotou.

Nadare smirked and jumped forward in a blur. He landed just in front of Kakashi, his infuriating smirk still plastered on his face. Kakashi glared at his old enemy, then glanced over toward his students.

"Brutus and I will fight Nadare. When you get an opening, _kill_ Dotou." The genin were taken back at Kakashi's cold voice. Normally, their sensei was calm, collected; rational. The man giving them orders now was a vengeful, cold killer, one who would not hesitate to take a life or four. Hesitantly, the Uchiha and his blonde friend nodded. Kakashi cut his eye back at the _still _smirking Nadare, and took up a stance, his feet shoulder-width apart, kunai hand forward, left hand close to his chest. Brutus took a mighty step forward with his right hand thrust forward, perfect for deflections or grapples. Buster sat comfortably in his left hand behind him, the spikes gleaming in the artificial light. Just when everyone tensed and got ready to move, the lights went out.

The entire area was shrouded in darkness, save for the beam of light that was cast upon Dotou's throne by way of a skylight high above them. Brutus' voice echoed from the darkness.

"Well that certainly makes things interesting..."

* * *

_W...Where am I?_ Fubuki floated in darkness, numb to the world. She tried to raise her head, but she couldn't. Her entire body felt heavy. _Am I dead?_ The Snow kunoichi wondered. She couldn't hear anything, see anything or taste anything. Her throat felt dry, and she tasted the coppery flavor of blood. _I can taste,_ she reasoned, _so I can't be dead. So, where am I?_ Fubuki's groggy mind grappled with the problem, but couldn't come up with an answer. Not one to give up, the Snow kunoichi struggled to remember the last thing that had happened.

_Mizore had me by the neck, and he choked me out. So I must be unconscious._ The kunoichi realized. As if waiting for her realization, her body got lighter, and she could move her arms and legs. With some effort still, Fubuki opened her eyes.

The Snow kunoichi found herself lying on the cold stone floor of Dotou's fortress. She blinked, then slowly sat up, groaning. She clutched her head and closed her eyes, then opened them again to look around. She glanced at the crater in the wall with wide eyes, and took note of the rather large person-shaped imprint in the wall. It had to be Mizore's silhouette. She looked down on the floor, and gasped at the sight of Mizore's metal gauntlet, the lifeless hand laying next to a coil of the cable that connected it to Mizore's arm. Fubuki followed the cable with fear-filled eyes, expecting to find her ex-teammate at the end. Instead, she found the torn end of the cable, wires poking out of it like mechanical veins and arteries. Fubuki blinked slowly, until a crash sounded behind her. The kunoichi turned around in alarm and saw Mizore and the little Leaf kunoichi going at it, blow for blow.

Sakura threw a super-powered punch at Mizore's head, only for his handless arm to bat it away, redirecting the force into the wall at his side. The large man tried to clock Sakura with a close haymaker, but growled in anger when she ducked under it. Sakura braced herself against the floor and kicked upward with both feet. The move caught Mizore off guard _and_ right into the chin. Sakura released the chakra she had built up right on contact, and Mizore was sent upward into the ceiling. The large man's head punched through, but stopped with his head caught. The two kunoichi giggled as he kicked and pushed at the surface, trying in vain to free himself from his vertical prison. They could hear muffled shouts from the floor above, ut nothing they could make out. Sakura approached the trapped man slowly, until she was by his leg. With a might show of strength, the pinkette slammed a chakra-enhanced punch into Mizore's crotch. A high pitched squeal could be heard above them, and the poor man grasped at his nuts. This time, Fubuki actually laughed out loud, and even rolled around on the floor in her mirth.

Sakura turned in alarm at the other kunoichi's peals of laughter, but calmed when she recognized Fubuki. The pinkette walked back over to Fubuki just as the Snow kunoichi was calming down, gasping for breath nonetheless. She knelt next to Fubuki and her eyebrows raised in an expression of concern.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently. Fubuki snickered and nodded, almost falling back into another cackling fit.

"I'm fine now, thanks to you, I suppose. Where did you learn to hit like that?" Fubuki asked in wonderment, gesturing vaguely towards the abused crotch of Mizore. Sakura blushed and looked away, flattered by the question.

"Oh, it's just something Kakashi-sensei taught me. It takes some serious chakra control, but I use it to keep up with the boys. It comes in handy when you want to crush something."

Fubuki eyes widened slightly in understanding, and Sakura stood up. The pinkette offered a hand, and Fubuki took it and stood. And then, the lights went out. (The lights are now out all over the base.)

"Well, that was to be expected..." Fubuki chuckled nervously. Even though it was pitch black, Sakura sweat dropped.

* * *

Dotou smiled as he watched the shinobi (and one paladin) fight below him. Well, he gazed into the complete darkness in which they were encased. He was not without his little insights into the battle. Each time Nadare clashed with Brutus or Kakashi, the sparks from his kunai meeting another blade lit the area, showing their looks of concentration. Dotou smirked as he watched. In every meeting, it was Nadare who initiated contact. The rebels just defended. He smirked, then stood up imperiously. In the darkness, Naruto and Sasuke followed his every move.

The tyrant reached up to his throat and grasped the brooch that held his light blue cloak together. With a slight tug, the garment fell to the ground, and the two genin gasped in shock. Instead of being garbed in some combat uniform or something, the Lord of the Snow was wearing a black set of chakra armor. It was just as form-fitting as the other sets, but the circle on his chest was larger, more defined. On his back was a pair of bat-like wings, folded up neatly. His build was muscular, completely the opposite from what Naruto and Sasuke had suspected. The dictator smirked, then spread his wings. The purple appendages extended as if he were born with them, and with a flap, he soared upward.

Kakashi took notice immediately and looked over toward where he thought Naruto and Sasuke were standing. "Naruto, Sasuke, get after him! We'll deal with this pest and meet up later!"

The two genin didn't hesitate and jumped into action, running along the wall while moulding their chakra. Dotou looked down to see the two boys come dashing out of the darkness and sneered. The tyranical leader looked up and sped toward the skylight above him. The boys alighted onto the ceiling and ran, upside down, toward the light as well. A loud crash echoed throughout the room, and glass showered down to the ground as Dotou made his exit. The three combatants on the ground level paused momentarily to look up at the light, and they all saw Naruto and Sasuke flip through the light and onto the roof.

_Be careful, you two,_ Kakashi thought silently, then cursed as he barely blocked Nadare's kunai from spilling his guts across the floor. The two jounin struggled against each other, and even in the darkness, Kakashi could _feel_ Nadare smirk.

"Lord Dotou is more adept at Ice Style jutsu than I am. Those brats don't stand a chance!" The Snow jounin said sinisterly. Kakashi's eye narrowed, even though doubt began to worm its way into his mind.

"Those two are the best genin in the village. If anyone can stop him right now, it's them." Kakashi snarled back defiantly. Nadare paused to reply, but the clanking of an approaching Brutus cut him off. He backflipped into the darkness, and the deadly dance in the dark continued.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto vaulted up onto the roof and took in their surroundings. The roof of the fortress was the same bleh gray as the rest of the base. But the man hanging in the sky above them set it apart.

Dotou sneered down at the genin. "I was expecting that jounin sensei of yours, or perhaps the rebel. But to send two _children_ after me? I don't know whether to be amused or insulted!" The dictator roared.

Sasuke scowled up at the man, then ran through a familiar set of hand seals. When he finished, he tooka deep breath and brought his hand up to his face, his fingers curled in a guiding pose.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

A huge ball of flame erupted from the Uchiha's mouth, and screamed toward the floating man. Dotou looked at the great ball of fire (goodness gracious!) with a smirk, and made no effort to move. The fireball slammed into him and exploded, blasting the entire area with a wave of heat and light. Naruto and Sasuke shielded their eyes from the intense blast. When the light faded, Sasuke smirked at the large cloud of smoke that hovered in the air. A dark chuckle wiped that smirk right off his face.

The smoke cleared to reveal Dotou completely unharmed, and a barrier of some sort surrounded the tyrant. He spread his arms to show his uninjured state, then tapped the center of his breastplate, which glowed ominously. Dotou grinned widely on the outside, but on the inside his concern for his armor grew stronger. _I specifically ordered a stronger shield for this model, but I didn't do anything about the cooling system! I won't be able to fly around if these punks start throwing jutsu like that around. _Dotou laughed cruelly and landed gracefully, descending quickly, then slowing to a stop.

"Ha! Is that all you brats have? I could stand here all day, and you wouldn't be able to touch me with those weak techniques!" He sneered, and Sasuke scowled again. Naruto grit his teeth, the put his fingers together in a cross seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" With a few puffs of smoke, several clones appeared. Dotou grinned, expecting them to attack, but they surprised him by forming their own seals.

The clones all jumped into the air around Sasuke and the original, then they all shouted collectively, "Transform!"

All of the clones disappeared into puffs of smoke, which soon gave way to fifteen windmill shuriken floating above Naruto and Sasuke. The two friends looked at each other and nodded, then the first shuriken fell. Sasuke reached up and caught it and another, splayed them out, and flinged them at Dotou. The man's eyes widened in alarm when Naruto did the same. The missiles came flying at Dotou at incredible speed, all in pairs. Dotou scowled and stood still. They were just projectiles, his shield could handle them...

The shuriken shot toward Dotou. The first two impacted with his shield and bounced back... then turned back into clones! Dotou's eyes widened in surpries when the two clones caught their transformed brethren and swiped at him. The large man dodged under the twin swipes and jumped back. _That was sneaky...I'm going to have to use THAT technique. Hehehe..._

The clones dashed forward, their transformed counterparts wizzing past them. The shuriken bounced off, turned into clones, and the cycle was repeated. Dotou jumped back again, close to the edge. He scowled and slammed his fists together, then drew his left arm back as if to punch someone.

"Take this!" He roared, "Ice Style: Black Dragon Blizzard!"

A huge, snaking dragon, black as night and with sinister red eyes, formed around the tyrant's arm. It screeched an unearthly cry, making the opposing ninja and clones clap their hands over their ears. Naruto grimaced in pain, his sensitive ears being punish especially by the sonic torture. But the scream soon ended, and the black beast stretched from Dotou's arm, its body moving forward as if crawling out of a hole. When it seemed to be satisfied with its range of movement, the ice dragon attacked.

The elemental beast tore through the first four clones easily; just passing through them was enough to dispel them and their shuriken brethren. The beast continued on and plowed into the remaining shuriken, eliminating them in puffs of smoke as well. Naruto cried out in alarm and took a step back, but Sasuke was moving on to more destructive measures. He flew through a larger set of seals, then moved his hand to his face again.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!"

Instead of the huge fireball that he had used earlier, a large stream of fire shot from the Uchiha's lips. The flame hit the ice dragon head-on, stopping it in its tracks. The fire held the ice dragon at bay, but Sasuke was running out of breath. Naruto looked at the two battling forces in wonder, then was struck with inspiration.

Sasuke weezed as his dragon flame bomb died, and panted to catch his breath. That attack had taken a lot out of him. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up to see a much smaller, but no less fierce ice dragon come hurtling toward him. The Uchiha cursed and dove to the side. The dragon dove into the roof, and gouged a good bit of it away before disipating. Dotou smirked and slammed his fists together again. He had no need to voice the technique's name now; his muscle memory kicked in quite nicely. He punched the air again, and another ice dragon was sent hurtling toward the two genin.

Sasuke groaned at the sight of another dragon, but went through his seals regardless. The dragon was once again met by flame, and stopped again. But this time, a flash of orange zipped past the two contesting elements, straight toward Dotou.

The tyrant's eyes widened in realization and he cut his flow of chakra off from the jutsu, bringing his hands up to block a kick to the face. Naruto landed and made to punch Dotou in the stomach, but the older man caught his fist. _Uh oh._ Dotou sneered and pulled the genin forward, then slammed his fist into Naruto's face, cracking his jawbone and sending him flying. But as one genin flew back, another jumped in. Sasuke dashed in and engaged Dotou in a taijutsu match. His superior skill was quickly made apparent, and Dotou began to backpedal. Kick. Block. Punch. Dodge.

_These brats won't beat me!_ Dotou mentally roared, and he caught one of Sasuke's fists instead of dodging it. The Uchiha's eyes widened in alarm, and Dotou took the intiative and grabbed him by the throat. Sasuke grimaced and his hands flew to the one clenched around his windpipe. He grunted with effort, but couldn't wrench the older combatant's grasp away. When he opened his eyes again, they widened to see the snarling visage of a dragon centimeters from his face.

Dotou cocked his fist back and punched Sasuke right in the nose, breaking it, then released his jutsu. The dragon stabbed into Sasuke's gut and threw him backwards. The Uchiha cried out in pain, and was propelled back into the skylight, where he fell to the ground.

Naruto rubbed his jaw and winced in pain, but his expression immediately turned to alarm when he saw his friend catapulted through the air.

"SASUKE!" He cried. He ran over to the edge of the light to catch his friend, and dove. He was moving fast, but the Uchiha was falling faster. Sasuke's blue ninja sandals passed through the light just when Naruto slid to a stop. The blonde hurriedly looked over the edge, just in time to see his teammate hit the ground with a loud crunch. He shouted again.

"SASUKE!" The Uchiha didn't move. A cold feeling in Naruto's gut made itself known, and the final straw appeared: the pool of blood that began to form around Sasuke's limp form. That was when it all went weird. That was when Naruto lost it. He gripped the side of the skylight so hard, the concrete cracked under the pressure. _Is he really...dead?_ Naruto looked down again to see his teacher land near Sasuke, checking his pulse and tapping his face. Somewhere directly below Naruto, he could hear the clashes of metal that signified Brutus' fight with Nadare. But he didn't care about that. His eyes were fixed on his teacher.

He watched with bated breath as Kakashi put a hesitant hand to Sasuke's neck, checking for a pulse. Time stretched for what seemed like days, but Naruto refused to look away, refused to blink. His blood ran cold, however, when Kakashi hung his head sadly.

_No. No, it isn't possible..._ Naruto leaned backward in a daze, his eyes unfocused. His teammate and best friend for at least a year, Sasuke Uchiha, was dead.

The tears finally began to stream down his face. One of the few people to ever care for him. To pay attention to him. He and Sasuke had always been at odds, but it was a friendly rivalry. But now, it was all over. Sasuke was dead. _Dead._ The word echoed in Naruto's mind, and he gripped his chest as some phantom pain hit him in the chest. The void that had been filled by his team seemed to be a little bigger now. And it was all Dotou's fault.

Naruto turned toward the tyrant, who stood at the edge and sneered smugly. Naruto's tear-filled eyes slowly began to change. They went from sorrowful blue, to an enraged crimson. His pupils contracted into demonic slits, and his canines poked over his lips. His whiskers became more defined, more feral. And there was only one thing that he focused on: Dotou.

Dotou's sneer faltered as he examined the young boy's angry visage. Hadn't his eyes been blue before? And where had those teeth come from? Before the tyrant could sneer and spit out some derisive comment, however, the blonde boy was right in front of him.

Naruto looked up at Dotou with pure rage in his eyes. The Snow Lord paled as he saw the blood-red orbs reflect his own visage. And the fury, by God the _fury_...

It felt like his soul was being crushed. The tyrant felt short of breath, and the already frigid air seemed to get even colder. Finally, after staring into each other's eyes for the longest time, Naruto finally spoke.

"**You have taken one of my precious people from me.**" The voice that came from the boy's mouth was not the normal, grating voice of a child. This one was deep, ragged. It had a gutteral undertone, and the tone itself sent fearful chills up Dotou's spine. Then the words sank in. "**For that, I'll take you soul.**"

A burst of fire clothed the boy's right hand, and Dotou jumped to the side and away. Clutched in the boy's grasp was a black cleaver, roughly as long as he was tall. It looked heavy, yet the child held it as if it were a feather. And no matter how he moved or turned, those crimson eyes never left his own. The cold of fingers gripped Dotou's heart, and he staggered at the unadulterated rage contained in those red orbs. And then, as soon as Dotou blinked, the boy was gone. No afterimage, no evidence that he was ever there. Alarmed, Dotou looked around.

"Where is he?" The frightened leader asked the air. And in a way, the air gave its own answer.

_SLINK!_

Dotou felt the odd pain in his back, and knew that he was in bad shape. He looked down with wide eyes to see an obsidian blade stabbed through his chest. His fingers were the first to go numb, and the Snow Lord could barely make out his own twitching feet. His spinal column had been sliced in two. He chuckled mirthlessly, only to cough up a river of blood. The red liquid dripped down his chin onto his already crimson shirt.

_This isn't how I saw myself going out..._ Was Dotou's last thought. His breath, while ragged to begin with, slowed to a rasp, then stopped. Naruto felt the life leave the corpse and removed his blade, allowing the corpse to fall to the ground. He looked down without remorse, pity, or regret. What he felt was sorrow. The boy vaguely noticed the sword in his hand disappear in a flash of fire, then collapsed, unconscious.

* * *

Nadare saw the boy fall to the ground and smirked sinisterly when the blood began to pool. He continued to duel with the paladin, but was unable to stop Kakashi from reaching the body. He turned as the silver-haired jounin checked for a pulse, then hung his head in defeat. Nadare smirked again, then put his hands on his hips.

"You really shouldn't worry about those boys. He's dead, and the other will soon join him. Lord Dotou is far too powerful." The Snow jounin taunted. Kakashi said nothing. Nadare frowned, then turned to find he large opponent gone. Cautious, Nadare turned slowly around to face Kakashi again, only to be startled by a _very_ close, very angry jounin.

"He may not have been skilled or experienced, but Sasuke was _twice_ the ninja you will ever be." Kakashi snarled coldly. Nadare tried to back away, only to feel two large hands pin his arms to his sides.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He cried out in panic. He strained to look around at his captor, but stopped when he heard...birds? He turned toward Kakashi only to see the brightest blue light he had ever seen...

"CHIDORI!"

* * *

I know. I'm an ass. But this had to be done. Peace.


	9. Aftermath

Alright, alright, that was tough. And I didn't really get a lot of attention after that update...ah well. Here's chapter nine, where I reveal that you might not know the past so very well... because I messed with it.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Aftermath**

Kakashi ripped his hand from Nadare's chest roughly, splattering blood all over himself and the ground. Nadare looked down in shock at the large hole in his chest. He couldn't speak, out of shock or injury, none of them knew. He tried to reach up and touch the wound, but his fingers would obey him. Nadare managed to chuckle, but doing so brought forth a river of blood from his mouth. His eyes clouded over as he stared at Kakashi, and the sliver-haired jounin merely stared back. The Snow ninja took one last rattling breath, then went limp. Brutus dropped him on the spot, the body hitting the cold ground with a thud. The paladin looked down disdainfully at the corpse, a frown crossing his features as he wiped off excess blood from his tunic collar. When all of the life-giving fluid was gone, he turned back toward the fallen genin, and Kakashi followed his gaze. The boy wasn't moving, and it seemed to all present parties that he was dead.

Kakashi slowly walked over toward the body again, his shoulders sagging in sadness. _His first REAL mission, and he dies because I sent him after a strong opponent._ The pang in Kakashi's chest was great, and it felt as if he had lost his best friend all over again. Sasuke's training and well being had been in the Copy Ninja's hands. And now, he was dead. Or, at least, dying with no hope of recovery. Kakashi looked down on his student's pained visage with a grimace of sorrow. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to the Hokage, or how-

"Kakashi."

The silver-haired jounin turned to see Brutus kneeling beside Nadare's corpse. The paladin had his hands cupped together, as if trying to prevent a fly or moth from escaping. Kakashi's eye wandered to Nadare's corpse, and he was shocked to see that the body was decomposing. Even though he was alive mere minutes before, Nadare's skin had gone pasty white, and his eyes had already sunken in. Hell, even as the Copy Ninja watched, it seemed that he was wasting away. Kakashi's eye went back up to Brutus' cupped hands, and he rose an eyebrow.

"I hold in my hands the soul of Nadare Roga." Brutus said gravely, and he lifted his top hand to reveal a ghostly white orb, brimming with light. The actual sphere seemed to be the size of a pea, but the light permeating it was so bright, gauging the actual size was impossible. Wisps of white mist orbited around the sphere, and Kakashi felt cold for some reason. Brutus clapped his hand over the orb again, and the mesmerizing light released the Copy Ninja from its spell.

Kakashi blinked once, twice, then closed his eye and shook his head. When he opened it again, Brutus was standing. The paladin cradled the precious cargo to his chest, and turned toward the unmoving body of Sasuke. He trudged over slowly, while Kakashi watched silently from afar. Brutus stopped when he reached the fallen boy, and knelt, almost reverently. Brutus uncupped his hands, and the shining soul was once more revealed to the world. _Whenever I'm injured, I use the souls of my enemies. Maybe it can work for the boy as well..._

The paladin lowered his cupped hand to Sasuke's chest, then rotated his hand to where the sphere of light was just touching Sasuke's chest. With a grunt of effort, Brutus slammed the ball into Sasuke's chest, and the light went out. Kakashi stared as...well, nothing really happened.

Brutus lifted his hand from Sasuke's chest and stood, then stepped away as whatever he did began to work. Kakashi watched with bated breath, his one eye scrutinizing his prone student for movement. And finally, he was not disappointed.

Sasuke's chest rose slightly, then fell immediately afterwards. The genin breathed again, and Kakashi almost broke down right there. The sorrow that had permeated his chest was replaced with joy, and he looked over at Brutus with new-found respect. Sasuke's eyes opened slightly, and Kakashi's gaze was riveted to his student's onyx orbs.

"Where...Naruto?" Sasuke croaked out. His voice was raspy, and barely audible. But to Kakashi, it was loud enough. He looked over toward Brutus.

"I'll go up to the roof and check on Naruto. You stay here and do what you can." He looked back down to his student, and his eye curved up into his trademark eye smile. "Everything's going to be fine, Sasuke."

The genin seemed to stiffen for a moment, but he was too exhausted to respond. He merely turned his head to the side, and fell into unconsciousness. Kakashi sighed heavily, then nodded to Brutus. The paladin reached around to his belt and unclasped a canteen. He unscrewed the cap and held it to Sasuke's lips. Kakashi stood and jumped onto the wall, leaving Brutus to tend to the Uchiha.

When Kakashi vaulted up onto the roof, the first thing that hit him was the sight of blood. His instincts kicked in whenever he saw the crimson liquid, and now was no exception. As he took in the scene, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

At the edge of the roof, a body lay face down in an enormous pool of blood. Kakashi leaped and landed beside it soundlessly, keeping his sandals just outside the pool of blood. He knelt and examined the body with a critical eye, suspicion welling up in his mind. The corpse was that of Dotou, no doubt. But the large stab wound right through his chest was evidence of a large sword or scythe. Kakashi scanned the surface of the roof slowly, but no such weapon came to his attention. He looked back down at the corpse and stared at wound intently. He squinted and looked closer, and could barely, just barely, make out movement _within_ the wound. Kakashi stepped into the blood and moved closer, his curiosity overwhelming his cleanliness. He stopped right at Dotou's shoulder and crouched again, and the wound was much more grievous than he had first thought.

The ribs were shattered by the impact of the blade, every one of them in pieces amidst the meat and muscle. The lungs were shredded open and gaping like popped balloons, their purple skin already turning blue in the cold. The heart itself was completely sliced in half, meaning the blade had gone right through it. And just under the lungs, among the various visceral organs, were _black flames_. Kakashi's eye widened at the sight of them, and he stood slowly. His mind grappled with the situation, but he couldn't come up with an answer. _Those were the flames of Amaterasu... I think. How did Naruto use the flames of Amaterasu?_ If what Kakashi had heard was true, the small black flames would consume the body and burn for seven days. The jounin looked down worriedly at the corpse, and apprehension welled up in his chest. _This mission is getting stranger and stranger. Brutus showing up, Dotou being a super powerful warrior, and now this?_ Kakashi shook his head, clearing it of the disturbing thoughts, then looked over to the side at Naruto, who lay on his stomach just a few feet away.

The boy was out cold, that he knew for certain. His back moved up and down in a slow rhythm, and his light snores indicated that he had exhausted himself, not been knocked unconscious. The boy's eyes were closed, and his cheek was just at the edge of the now coagulating pool of blood. Kakashi walked around the blood and knelt down next to his blonde student. He rolled the jinchuriki over onto his back and checked his pulse, putting his fingers to the boy's neck. He felt the steady throb of a healthy heart beat pushing against his fingertips, and let out a sigh of relief. He stuck his arms under Naruto's neck and legs and hoisted the boy's body up easily. Kakashi turned back toward the skylight, but not before casting a hesitant look back to the still corpse of Dotou. The black flames still smoldered within his wound, and did not seem to move. This did nothing to console the jounin, but at least the unholy fire wouldn't spread to the building. Kakashi's brow creased in worry, and looked down at his student as the whiskered boy snoozed on. _I think our sword-wielding friend might know more than he lets on..._

Kakashi jumped down into the throne room, just beside Brutus and the unconscious Uchiha. Brutus looked up at Kakashi's worried expression, then down to Naruto's still form.

"Is he...?" Brutus asked calmly, worry etched across his features. Kakashi shook his head slowly, and Brutus sighed in relief.

"No, just unconscious. However, there's something troubling about his fight with Dotou." Kakashi set Naruto down next to Sasuke and stood, gazing at his two pupils with a mix of sadness and worry in his eyes.

"I found him knocked out next to Dotou's dead body. The Snow Lord was killed in battle by a large chest wound," Kakashi looked at Brutus sternly, and his voice reflected his trepidation. "A large stab wound, to be exact. One only accomplishable by using a blade as large as yours." Kakashi cast a hand in Naruto's direction, gesturing at the boy's kunai holsters.

"Nothing in his arsenal is large enough to have inflicted that wound." Kakashi continued. Brutus stared at him in silence, his face an emotionless mask as the Copy Ninja explained his findings.

"And to top it all off, there were _black flames_ inside the wound, almost demonic in nature." Kakashi finished. At this last revelation, Brutus's eyes widened in disbelief, and he gasped in shock.

"That's impossible! The boy couldn't have..." the ancient giant trailed off as his face took on a more thoughtful visage, his eyes cast downward and his lips scrunch in a hesitant frown. Kakashi's eye narrowed as he watched, and was mentally pacing in circles. _I was right. There IS something he's not telling me._

Brutus turned and brought a hand to his chin and closed his eyes, thinking hard. His own thoughts were racing, also searching for an explanation. _Black flames, huge stab wound. There's no mistaking it; the boy summoned Kiri's sword, Soul Blaze. He even activated the sword's power!_

Brutus sighed again, then turned back toward Kakashi.

"What I am going to tell you is repeated to no one. Understand?" Brutus said cautiously. Kakashi nodded tersely, then crossed his arms. He didn't like where this was going.

"I trained Kamikirimusi in the art of the sword, that is true. But she was wielding the sword while in the position of High Infernal General, second only to Lucifer himself." Kakashi blinked at this. The Kyuubi was some general under a man named Lucifer; so what?

"And who is Lucifer?" Kakashi prodded. Brutus looked at his silver-haired companion and shook his head sadly.

"Lucifer, otherwise known as the Fallen One, is an angel cast down from the heavens when attempted to overthrow Go- err, Kami. He has been imprisoned in Hell since the beginning of time, but he still exerts dominion over the Earth, Hell, and demons. Kamikirimusi was his second in command when she used that sword. Her sword, Soul Blaze, used the demonic flames of the Lake of Fire to burn men by turning their evils into black flames. The more sins committed, the more fire present and thus, the more the person suffered."

Brutus sat down on a piece of rubble next to the boys, and Kakashi did the same.

"But over time, _anyone_ cut or stabbed by the sword would burst into these unearthly flames. It is how she became the Demon of the Black Lake." Brutus ended his history lesson and glanced at Kakashi. As expected, the Copy Ninja asked his question.

"What does this have to do with my student?" Kakashi asked, not sure where this was going. Brutus didn't meet his eyes, but the metaphorical bomb was tangible in his tone, even before his words sank in.

"That blade was connected to her soul, the very soul Naruto guards within his body. What I'm trying to say is, _Naruto summoned Soul Blaze_."

It was silent for what seemed like forever as Kakashi grasped the implications. Not only had Naruto accessed the power of Kamikirimusi again, but he had summoned her sword and used it proficiently enough to kill a very powerful Snow Ninja. Kakashi cast a glance at his blonde student, who, even though the situation was becoming more complex by the minute, slept on.

* * *

Naruto stirred finally, and his mind jump started as he came back into consciousness. He felt heavy and tired, as if he had exercised for weeks straight like that weird spandex-wearing jounin. The genin opened his eyes slowly, and the pipes and concrete of his inner mindscape greeted him, though through blurred vision. Naruto blinked, and the haze lifted to reveal not only pipes above him, but Kiri as well. To clarify, a _very_ angry Kiri.

"NO!" She yanked Naruto up by his collar, thoroughly startling him in the process, and brought him right up to her face, almost nose to nose.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! IF YOU EVER TOUCH MY SWORD AGAIN, JAILOR OR NOT, I _WILL_ KICK. YOUR. ASS!" She shouted right into the poor boy's face, eyes bright red with fury and pearly white, sharp canines catching the light. Kiri couldn't believe that he had the audacity, no, the _balls_ to use her sword without her permission. Naruto just stared at her, scared out of his wits and dumbfounded at the same time. She waited for a response, but he just kept staring. Irritated, Kiri groaned and dropped the boy, who actually managed to land on his feet.

"Uh...I'm sorry?" The clueless boy managed to get out. Kiri glared at him again, causing the boy to cringe. She held her gaze, blood red eyes meeting ocean blues. She could tell that he frightened, and for some reason, she felt bad about it. Her hard glare softened into a reprimanding frown, and she reached out slowly with her hand. Naruto flinched away from her, which seemed to hurt even more. She reached forward slowly and ruffled his hair lightly, and he stopped flinching away.

"But you did pretty well, for a beginner at least." She said teasingly. Naruto's expression brightened, and he went from fearful little boy to celebrating champion. He jumped up and down, hooting and hollering and laughing.

"Yeah, hahaha! I used that big sword all by myself, hahaha! Woohoo!" He crowed. When his words echoed in his head, though, he stopped as something occurred to him. _But how did I get the sword?_ He took on a more introspective pose, finger tapping on chin and squinting eyes. The change had been instantaneous; he had gone from happy moron to a normal (looking) boy thinking something over. Before Kiri could be amazed or find a camera, he pointed at her and voiced his mental question.

"How did I use _your_ sword? I haven't even touched that thing until I used it." He asked cautiously. Hopefully she wouldn't brain him for using her blade without permission. Kiri rubbed her chin thoughtfully, and a hypothesis formed in her mind.

"The Fourth's seal only keeps _me_ imprisoned here, not my blade. My sword is tied to my soul, so I am never without it. Somehow, when you called on my power, you subconsciously summoned Soul Blaze." She reasoned. It seemed the most plausible explanation for why _he_ was using her sword, instead of her getting out and using it. Naruto bought it hook, line, and sinker, too. She wasn't too surprised when he didn't think on it any more than that.

"That was so cool, too! I was all like, 'Grrr!' and he was all like, 'Oh No!' and then I was all, 'Yaa!' and..." He trailed off, and the full weight of what he was about to say hit him hard. "And I killed him."

Kiri had seen the breakdown coming from a mile away. But she didn't stop it. He had to come to terms with it; there wasn't a way or a reason to shield him from learning this terrible truth.

Naruto spaced out a little bit, his eyes loosing their intensity as his gaze drew inward. His face was expressionless, but his emotions raged within him. Fear. Guilt. Sorrow. He grasped his chest and slid to his knees.

Kiri knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, but that was all she would do. He had to accept this hard fact about the life of a shinobi: you had to kill to survive. He mumbled incoherent words, his voice cracking. He clutched at the sides of his head, his eyes wide. He had seen Dotou's fearful look, that look of helplessness as Naruto stabbed him through the chest. The scene replayed in Naruto's mind, over and over. Sasuke falling, dying. The rage that had overtaken him, the fury. The long obsidian blade that he had wielded so effortlessly. Dotou's terrified visage as the blade pierced his chest.

Naruto didn't notice the tears streaming down his face. His mind reeled as the thought finally hit him: _I killed Dotou. I killed someone. _He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing the memory would just go away. He opened his eyes again and looked over to Kiri. Her eyes were soft and her lips were curved in a support smile, but it didn't help. Finally, after fighting it off for so long, he broke down and cried. All the demoness could do was hug him and wait.

* * *

Kakashi looked down at Sasuke again in shame as the boy slept on. He blinked slowly, then turned to see Brutus carrying Naruto as well. The two men walked slowly through the darkened hallways of the now empty fortress. Most of the personnel had fallen during the assault, but the surviving ninja had up and ran, their dedication to their own lives greater than to Dotou. The fact that he was deceased probably didn't help much.

Kakashi looked back at the two chatting kunoichi behind him and rolled his eye. Ever since the guys had picked them up, they had only shut up when Sakura had worried over Sasuke. When she had heard that he was alright, she stayed close by, but continued to talk. And talk. And talk. As they neared the main entrance to the fortress, a large door that was half open, the Copy Ninja seriously considered teleporting to the ship and leaving Brutus and Naruto with the yammering girls.

Brutus frowned grumpily as the girls talked on and on. _I haven't heard this much useless chatter since Kiri and the Two-Tailed Cat ran into each other._ The immortal groused. He tried to ignore them by focusing his attention on Naruto and the boy's current predicament. If what Kakashi had said was true, then Naruto had used Kiri's blade without her permission. That was almost as dangerous as pissing in a shinigami's coffee and admitting it. While wearing 'kill-me' orange. And being obnoxious. Hmm.

"She's probably tearing him to pieces in there," the paladin said to himself quietly. He knew what it was like when Kiri got protective over her blade; Sairubi had swiped it and hid it while she and Brutus were sleeping. Brutus had awoken to find his white-clad friend buried alive under Kiri's sleeping bag while the demoness herself sharpened her sword.

Speaking of Sairubi, Brutus had yet to see him. The ninja had gone off toward the north to train in the tundra, and the area around Dotou's fortress was perfect for such training. But the third immortal was nowhere to be found. It puzzled Brutus, and he took on a more thoughtful look. Had Sairubi finally found his cousin that he idolized? Or had something terrible happened to him? Brutus was clueless, and filed the quandary for later consideration.

Kakashi led the group through the large doors and out into the bright sunlight. They all squinted and shielded their eyes as they became adjusted to the light. Walking around in a pitch black fortress for an hour will hurt when you reach daylight again. When the conscious members of the team adjusted to the light, they were shocked to see several warriors, camera crews, and quite a few civilians waiting for them. The crowd roared in approval as the shinobi and paladin walked out slowly. Brutus and Kakashi shared surprised looks, while Sakura waved to the crowd. Fubuki clung to Kakashi's back, not wanting to be seen. She had been one of the oppressors earlier, so a mob wasn't something that she could avoid alone. With some slight hesitation, the usurpers of Dotou walked forward into the crowd, leaving the empty fortress behind.

* * *

The weeks passed quickly for Team 7 and their two tag-alongs. Yukie, or Princess Koyuki, finished her movie and took her place on the throne with a smile. She didn't quit acting though, and flaunted a script that left Kakashi on the ground with a nose bleed. Team 7 was paid in advance for a S-Rank mission, something all four of them were glad to see. Brutus was even compensated, even though he turned down the original sum.

Fubuki renounced her loyalty to Dotou and was the first shinobi to pledge her allegiance to the new Snow Princess. As a reward for assisting in the rebellion, the Snow kunoichi was made an official ambassador between Konoha and the Land of Snow, a position she was more than happy to accept.

Naruto was silent the entire trip back, something that worried his teammates. Sakura knew something was wrong just because she hadn't hit him since they landed in Snow. Brutus could tell that the boy was still dealing with the fact that he killed someone, and let the boy be. Kakashi recommended that Naruto go to the Hokage as soon as they got into the village. He didn't get a response.

* * *

(Konohagakure, Third Hokage's Office)

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe slowly, contemplating yet another important matter. His office was dark, because it was getting to be late, _and_ because his new guest had asked for a private audience. Sarutobi had granted it with slight hesitation, especially when he found out who it was. The old man shuffled the papers on his desk as he read over them for the hundredth time.

"So, just so we're clear, you want to join our village because of what one boy said to you? Don't you believe that might be a little foolish?" Sarutobi asked cautiously. He wasn't trying to dissuade the man from joining, but his reasons were a little strange.

"There's more to it than that, Lord Hokage. The hunters think I'm dead, so starting over with a new alias in a village would help me get back on my feet." A gravelly voice answered the old man. The Third looked over the papers one last time, then blew out a long stream of smoke. He reached over to his stamp and inked it properly, then set it firmly on the paper. When it came away, the papers were marked with the seal of the Hokage; undisputable.

"Well, there's the three week probation period where I'll have ANBU watching you to make sure you're trustworthy. After that, you will be evaluated and reinstated at the rank we see fit. Is that reasonable?"

The man in the other chair leaned forward to reveal dirty brown hair cocked to one side, dark tanned skin, startling brown eyes, and the not-so-white bandages of Zabuza Momochi.

"Oh yes, Lord Hokage, that will do just fine."

* * *

HEHEHEHEHE! I'll do the flashback next chapter. Now review, dammit!


	10. Zabuza's Choice

That was a lot of attention after chapter 9. I'm actually proud of myself. But unfortunately, these next two chapters will be it for Bloodstained Hurricane. I'll finish up the arc, then I have to finish up the events in A Serious Problem before I move on to Arc Two. Also, check out the poll on my profile page, because after this arc's completion, it's being taken down and the results implemented. But have no fear, I will put up another poll, one that shall last until the conclusion or later. Anyway, let's look back into the past to explain my little shocker at the end of chapter 9.

**Chapter 10: Zabuza's Choice**

* * *

The lone dusty road from the pier looked a little drier to Kakashi than it had when Team 7 had last tread it. The craggy rocks and light dirt seemed to be a little harsher, a slight bit more brutal than normal. The jounin shook his head with a sigh. He was just dejected about the fight with Dotou and his cronies. He had sent two genin after a man who could just throw around ice dragons like they were snowballs. Brutus and Sasuke had both tried to cheer him up, saying it wasn't his fault, that he had no idea Dotou would be as strong as he had been. But still, Kakashi felt that he had let his two students down.

Kakashi looked back at Brutus and his passenger. Perched on the swordsman's wide shoulders sat a rather disgruntled Sasuke Uchiha. Although Brutus' cool little healing technique had brought Sasuke from the brink of death, the boy still had some substantial damage to his spine, damage neither Kakashi nor the Snow medical staff had been able to repair. As such, Sasuke was forced to ride piggyback on Brutus' shoulders. It obviously embarrassed the proud Uchiha, as his trademark frown was a little darker than usual. He kept a lax grip around Brutus' neck, while Buster was sealed away in his pocket. The paladin had been very hesitant to part with his weapon, but the arrangements had to be made. So both Uchiha and immortal had grudgingly agreed to the idea, and they both looked unhappy. A good compromise leaves no one truly happy.

Kakashi looked over his other shoulder to see Sakura trying to pry a response from her normally exuberant teammate. The blonde boy was abnormally silent, something that Sakura had celebrated at first, but as time wore on, she became just as concerned as Kakashi. She constantly tried to brighten his mood with jokes, offers of ramen, even a date. Nothing had brought him out of his zombie-like state. The boy just trudged along silently, his normally deep blue eyes now a dull color, a shadow of their former sheen. His ever-present smile was so constant; a grim frown was all the expression they got from him. When he was given directions, he silently complied. When he was asked questions, he just mumbled an unintelligible answer, then clammed up again.

"And then, I kicked him right in the chin, and he got stuck in the ceiling!" Sakura finished, giggling as she recalled her flashy defeat of Mizore. Sakura trailed off in her laughter, however, when she noticed that Naruto still hadn't reacted. Not even an upturned corner of his mouth. Sakura frowned glumly and looked to her sensei with a pleading expression. Kakashi sighed and turned back to the face the road.

"Sakura, he just took his first life. It was obviously very traumatizing, something I should have prepared him for. Leave him be for now; he needs to deal with it on his own." Kakashi explained carefully. Sakura groaned exasperatedly, but moved closer to Sasuke and Brutus. Naruto's eyes didn't even register that she was gone. _Odd,_ the pinkette thought, _normally he's begging to go on a date or something,_ she thought worriedly. As she thought about the Snow mission, a thought occurred to her: _What ever happened to that big guy?_

* * *

(Just after Team 7 left Snow)

Mizore pushed against the ceiling for what had to be the thousandth time, but once again couldn't free himself. The trapped giant let his arms fall in defeat and sighed heavily. It looked to him as if he was going o have to wait for a civilian or something to come along and help him out.

Unknown to Mizore, Princess Koyuki had decided after battle was over and done with that the fortress was bleak, a dark reminder of the times of Dotou. Even though it would leave her without a throne for a while, she had a demolition expert plant charges at the base of the fortress. The man had only been too happy to oblige. He hadn't needed to look far, as he came upon a certain generator room built straight into the foundation of the fortress...

Mizore heard a distant explosion, and then a deep rumble that seemed to pervade the entire complex. _Uh oh._ Mizore struggled harder, pressing his hand and wrist stub up against the ceiling, and soon pressed his legs up against it in his bid for freedom. The rumble grew louder, and the Snow chuunin could feel a vibration through the stones entrapping his neck. The man grunted and strained, his dirt-covered face set in a grimace of determination. But it was no use. Mizore let his arms and legs fall uselessly and looked up in defeat, as if praying to the gods. As if the gods themselves were fucking with him, he gasped when he saw the ceiling above him come rushing down to meet him.

"Aw, COME ON!" _CRASH!_

* * *

(That old dusty trail, present day)

Sakura shrugged and discarded the thought of Mizore's fate as the group continued walking. She looked over to see Sasuke frowning even deeper, if it was possible. Brutus just looked grumpy. That had to change. Sakura made her way over to the two warriors meekly, but her intentions were nothing of the sort.

"So, Sasuke told us about the 'Trio of Immortals', at least what he knew about it. So how come there's just you?" She asked not so innocently. Brutus leveled a calm stare at her, but decided to answer her anyway.

"You see, young one, I am not the only member of the Three present. But to reveal the eldest person in our trio would be in direct violation of one of your village's laws. I would require the Hokage's permission to tell you the identity of my superior.

But as for our youngest member, I can tell you _all_ about him. His name is Sairubi Sosuke, a former member of a ghost pirate crew. When the oldest member and I traveled to a tower several hundred years ago..." Brutus proceeded to regale the ancient story of the Trio of Immortals, leaving out a certain demoness' identity with practiced ease. Sakura listened in awe at the story of how three people had lived for hundreds of years. Sasuke listened intently as well, if only to relieve himself of a chronic case of boredom.

Ahead of the conversing pair, Kakashi turned again to look at his sullen blonde student. Naruto just marched on blankly, his depressed expression still unchanging. The Copy Ninja frowned and mentally recalled the last time he had seen Naruto so downtrodden. _I haven't seen him this bad since he saw Zabuza go over the bridge with Gato..._

(Flashback, Land of Waves)

_"Boy, lend me your kunai."_

_Naruto looked down sullenly, but complied nonetheless. He reached down into his kunai holster and stuck his finger through the ring of his last knife. With a flick of his wrist, it spun through the air. Zabuza watched the kunai flip, end over end, and images came to him. Haku sitting on the bridge. The two of them looking over Mizugakure. Haku's speech about being tools._

_Grunting with fury, impatience, or maybe sadness, Zabuza snatched the kunai out of the air with his mouth and turned his sights to the large crowd of mercenaries with a feral gleam in his eyes. As he scanned the group, his eyes fell upon his prey almost physically. Gato stepped back and cried out in fear. The gray, fierce orbs pierced straight through his haughty persona, and the cold block of fear settled into Gato's stomach. He picked up his cane and ran back into the false safety of his goons._

_"Ok, that's it! Take him down!" The short, fat man cried piteously. His cronies yelled out several cries of affirmative, trying to sound tough. One man at the front, with long black hair and a blue shirt, voiced their collective thought as Zabuza ran towards them._

_"He's just one man! What can one guy do against all of us?" Even as the words left his filthy mouth, the injured Demon of the Bloody Mist zipped past him, but not before leaving a red trail carved through the man's side._

_Gato reached the incomplete side of the bridge, panting heavily from his flight. He turned to see his hired muscle crowding around Zabuza, and smirked slightly. He continued to watch as he listened to blows landing and the men yelling. He adjusted his rumpled suit and waited for the sounds of battle to end and the shouts of triumph to begin. He waited...and waited...and waited. The sounds of combat came closer and intensified, sending a shiver of fear down the shipping magnate's spine. He stepped back, only to feel the heel of his expensive business shoes poke off the edge. He froze, his eyes trained on the mob of mercenaries. Surely the group of them could kill one man?_

_As if the gods above were deciding to spite him, A lone figure burst from the crowd. Gato's eyes widened in fear at the sight of Zabuza Momochi, kunai clutched in his mouth, and a feral look in his eyes. _

_"He's the d-d-devil!" Gato cried in fear, he tried to step back, but there was nowhere left to run. He put up his arms in an attempt to shield himself from the incoming blow, but failed. Gato cried out in pain as a sharp point found its way into his ribcage, piercing a lung. A heavy weight followed the pain, and Gato looked down to see Zabuza, the kunai still clutched in his jaws. Gato couldn't keep both of them on the bridge with such weak footing and Zabuza's full weight pressing in on him. With the scrape of a shoe and a cry of terror, both assassin and businessman went over the edge, into the water._

(Back to the road of life or whatever, present day)

Kakashi watched Naruto closely as they continued down the path. The blonde showed no change in expression. Just that same downcast stare at the ground. Kakashi looked back toward the front and sighed. _The Hokage's gonna kill me for breaking Naruto...I should have seen this coming from a mile away._ The Copy Ninja's thoughts went back to when he had first taken a life. He too, had slain an enemy after the death of a friend. And deep within himself, though he would admit it to no one, he had secretly enjoyed it. The feeling of slight resistance as his Chidori cut through the man's guard, into his chest. The rush as hot blood splashed onto his face, his clothes.

He hadn't been as broken as Naruto had, but there were several differences. Kakashi had killed during a war, where death is everywhere. Naruto had slaughtered a man on a supposedly routine mission, someone he had seen kill his best friend. Naruto was just a boy, several years younger than Kakashi had been when he was in Grass Country. From what he had seen, it had also been a brutal execution, not a long drawn-out battle.

Kakashi sighed again, something he was making a habit of. All he could do was offer support to the boy, try to coax the boy back into his former self, and report to the Hokage. That last bit made Kakashi start crying anime tears. _That old man is going to kill me._

Brutus stared at Sakura in what could only be considered horrid fascination. His whole life story – over five hundred years – had sated her curiosity...for roughly twelve seconds. After that, she bombarded him with questions about using his sword, Sairubi's face, the people of Istanbul, and countless other meaningless things. He had answered, of course, but as the questions got more an more odd, he couldn't help but think there was an ulterior motive.

Unknown to Brutus, Sasuke was practically strangling himself in a – so far – successful attempt to restrain his laughter. Sakura's totally annoying questions were tailor-made to make Brutus uncomfortable, and the Uchiha's face was priceless. His cheeks were puffed out with air, his eyes were watering, and a grin was tearing through his vain attempts to retrain it. Sakura could barely see his teeth as tried extremely hard not to laugh. And she kept pestering the still oblivious swordsman, just for the fun of it.

"So, what kind of shampoo do you use?" She asked sweetly. Brutus paled at the question and altered his path, moving farther away from the insane kunoichi. She responded by getting even closer than she had been, walking roughly a foot and a half away from him. Brutus gave up his escape attempts and sighed gloomily. _This is going to be a LONG day._

_Kotetsu better have a good reason for waking me up at this hour._ Zabuza thought grumpily as he stomped down the hallway of the apartment building. Because of the recent influx of genin, the legendary Demon of the Hidden Mist hadn't been selected for a squad. How a bunch of snot-nosed, naïve little brats took precedent over an elite assassin was beyond him. So, he was stuck drifting around the village, most commonly doing mundane tasks with the Hokage's two aides, Kotetsu and Izumo. Unfortunately for Zabuza, the two eccentric chuunin were prone to very annoying tendencies.

"I just got the full movement back into my arms, and I spend the days hauling paperwork around," the former Mist ninja muttered to himself. He turned the corner and found – surprise – another hallway. The only thing different from the one he had just traversed was that this one had windows, allowing the bright moonlight to cascade in. Zabuza stepped into the light and turned, his gaze on the sleeping village before him.

_I know it was a desperate move, but..._ Zabuza thought to himself wryly, _coming here has to have a positive outcome for me._ He smirked under his bandages, and turned to continue down the hallway. He continued his trek to the Konoha chuunin's flat, his sandals scrapping against the weathered floor of the hallway. He glanced around, but found that there was no one nearby. He was alone.

_A fact I thoroughly regret,_ Zabuza thought gloomily. Possibly his best friend in the world, a definitely the best traveling partner in the world, was dead. And he had laughed and disregarded the boy's sacrifice as Haku laid bleeding. Looking back, he regretted it more than anything in the world. But thoughts of guilt still ran through his mind. Had his long-winded speech on how shinobi were tools been the last thing Haku had heard? Were the boy's last moments on Earth punctuated by the casual nonchalance of his only friend, ally, and father figure?

Zabuza shook his head and continued his march. _No, he wouldn't see it that way,_ Zabuza thought to himself. _Haku would only see me defending my way of life. _Even though he had greatly respected the boy, the Demon of the Bloody Mist had never told him so. And now, he would never have another chance.

All the woolgathering brought Zabuza into an even fouler mood, and when he reached Kotetsu's door, he slammed his fist into the wall several times, as opposed to a civilized knock. The ex-Mist jounin waited impatiently as several locks on the other side were hastily undone, and the door opened to reveal Kotetsu, clad in a black tank top and red Icha Icha pajamas.

"Dude, try to knock a little louder. I think the Tsuchikage is still asleep," the chuunin said grouchily. Zabuza didn't respond, and stepped through the door. Kotetsu rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him.

He brought Zabuza into his small living room, one that was just barely big enough to hold the small couch, medium-sized TV, and the mountains of pizza boxes that were stacked beside each. It appeared that Kotetsu took recycling to a ridiculous level, as most of the other furniture in the house had at one time been a pizza box or fifty.

"You actually live here?" Zabuza asked in horrified amazement. A nervous chuckle was his answer, and Kotetsu walked past him to open up a box that sat so high up on the stack, it almost met the seven-foot tall ceiling. As Zabuza continued to catalog the interior of Konoha's messiest apartment, Kotetsu dashed about the living room and retrieved several pieces of paper from his pizza boxes. When he had finished, he came back to Zabuza with a surprisingly clean stack of papers. The Demon of the Bloody Mist looked down dumbly at the papers, then back at the smiling chuunin

"Why?" He managed to asked as he reluctantly took the papers, examining them for week old cheese or something. Kotetsu's smile only widened.

"Well, look at it this way," he said casually as the two found their seats on the couch, "how many shinobi would search empty pizza boxes for sensitive documents?"

Even though he had a point, Zabuza could never imagine hiding his bank statements in a take-out box. It just seemed so...wrong.

"Whatever." The ex-missing ninja grumbled. "What do you have for me this time?"

Kotetsu flipped through the pages until he found one with a very familiar photograph. An older, gray-haired man with spectacles, sitting in front of a sign marked, 'Great Naruto Bridge'. If it were visible, Zabuza's jaw would have dropped.

"A protection mission. Apparently, some thugs have been messing around in the Land of Waves, trying to exercise muscle that hasn't been there since Gato's death. You're to protect this man and seek out the bandits." Kotetsu said as he handed Zabuza the mission details. Zabuza examined the fine print quickly, then smiled beneath his bandages.

"Old man Tazuna is going to get a big surprise."


	11. One Step Closer to Freedom

I know I've categorized the story as my main story, but I've just been getting ideas for other stories that just won't go away. And so, I found myself shelling out several more stories on which I must work, on top of this one and **Serious Problem**. So after seeing ten chapters in my documents, I finally said, "Fuck it, I give up!" and sat down to type. Here's the eleventh chapter for **Bloodstained Hurricane. **I liked listening to **Sweet Dreams** by _Marilyn Manson _on this chapter, just because it addresses the manipulative powers at work. Also, for those of you having trouble picturing Brutus, imagine this: Jorge from Halo Reach, with Alphonse Elric's armor (minus the helmet), and make it red. Just add that really awesome Buster sword from Soul Calibur 4, and you've got Brutus. I know, he's a bit of a mix, but trust me; he plays his part well.

* * *

**Chapter 11: One Step Closer to Freedom**

Kakashi almost jumped into the air with joy when the gates of Konoha could be seen over the hill they had just climbed. He could finally rest easy with this mission, drop off Sasuke at the hospital, leave Sakura with Naruto and Brutus, submit his report (eventually), and go home to read his books in peace. On the way home, he might even pick up the new edition of Icha Icha. They _had _been away for a while. The thought almost made Kakashi jump up and click his heels. Almost. The man had to keep a respectable demeanor around his students and compatriots, after all.

At the sight of Konoha's massive gates, even Naruto perked up a bit. The sight of his home, even if some of the villagers didn't like him, brought him out of his low spirits. Because he knew, he just _knew_, that Old Man Hokage could make everything alright. After Kakashi ditched them to go buy his crappy romance novels, Naruto would talk to the old man. The blonde followed behind his sensei, and his pace quickened slightly. Brutus and Sasuke, the latter of which still on the former's shoulders, noticed the change immediately. They both seemed to nod at the same time. They knew he'd be alright. Naruto paused however, to keep from running into his now stationary sensei. Curious, the blonde peeked around his lazy teacher to see what the matter was, and his jaw dropped at the sight of the person before him.

Zabuza Momochi sat before them, a packet of papers lying under his fingertips. His attire hadn't changed much since they had last met: brown tank top, mottled-green pants, and bandages across his face. However, instead of the slashed Kiri hitai-ate, he wore a new, shiny Konoha headband, something Kakashi and the genin picked up on immediately. Brutus just looked at the man because everyone else was staring, wondering what all the excitement was about. That, and checking out the giant cleaver sitting in a corner of the admission hut that Zabuza sat in.

Zabuza greeted the team with surprise almost equal to theirs. He hadn't expected them to be back this early, as he had overestimated Kakashi's lazy gait. Even so, he kept his voice level and arrogant, just as it had been when he had last spoken to them.

"Team Seven, under jounin sensei Kakashi Hatake. You guys were supposed to be here this morning." The not-dead Demon of the Bloody Mist looked back at the clock hung behind him. "It's almost four in the afternoon. What took you?" He asked grouchily.

Zabuza's greeting snapped at least Kakashi out of his stupor, and the Copy Ninja chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"There was an open ladder convention on the way here, so we had to take the long way around to avoid bad luck." The silver-haired jounin looked back at his traveling companions. "Right guys?" Deadpan stares greeted him, and he slouched forward in a depressed manner. "You guys suck," he whined piteously. Zabuza chuckled heartily at the Copy Ninja's predicament, but he quickly recovered and took on a more serious attitude. Kakashi stood up straight and sobered as well. The two nodded tersely, and Kakashi started walking again. All the others except Naruto followed, but Brutus stopped when he found Naruto wasn't tagging along.

The blonde still stared at Zabuza, who eyed the genin warily. An uncomfortable silence settled into the area around the two, and Zabuza shifted uncomfortably. Naruto continued to stare at the newly minted Konoha jounin, and the memories from the Land of Waves came rushing back to him. A flood of emotion hit him hard, and he reached around to dig into his pack. Zabuza's eye followed the boy's movements, his uncertainty visible in his gaze. _What's he got for me?_ Zabuza wondered.

Naruto stopped rummaging, and began to pull something out of his bag. He stepped forward and set something onto the counter, then removed his hand. Zabuza's gasp was barely audible, but his wide eyes betrayed his awe and surprise. Naruto ducked his head and remained silent, then turned and walked away, toward the Hokage's office. Zabuza's eyes remained fixed upon the item Naruto had left right in front of him. With an unsteady hand, he reached forward and grasped the object tightly, then brought it up to his face for closer inspection. When his hand opened, the light finally caught the object. Clutched in Zabuza's hand was a chipped piece of a porcelain mask, with an incomplete red wave coming across the top. It was a piece of Haku's mask. Zabuza closed his eyes and prayed silently for the soul of his pseudo-son, then pocketed the mask piece. He would find a way to frame it later. _If not,_ he thought smugly, _I'm sure she'll be able to help me._

Almost on cue, there was a rustle of cloth and the sound of someone landing next to the booth, sandals smacking into the ground. Zabuza craned his neck around the left side of his booth, only to find that there was no one there. Intrigued, he looked right, but there was no one there, either. Zabuza warily leaned back on his stool. His eyes widened when a kunai swept in front of his face, then traced a smile across his bandages.

"How's it going, handsome?" Anko Mitarashi asked sweetly, and she retracted her kunai to one again hide it in that secret place on her body. Seriously, no one had a clue where she kept getting them from. Zabuza breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out and sat on the counter. Thankfully (or not, depending on how you look at it), her trench coat was obeying the laws of gravity like it was supposed to, and covered up what wandering eyes needn't see. Unfortunately, she caught him staring. The tokubetsu jounin cocked a brow, and moved her hand to her trench coat teasingly.

"Aw, does someone want to see some more of little ol' me? Naughty little Zabu." She cooed, and Zabuza's face went red behind his mask, and he suddenly found the birds perched on the power poles extremely interesting. Anko chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder. "What's wrong, Zabu? Can't take a joke?" she mock pouted. Zabuza just coughed awkwardly and retrieved the mask piece from his pocket before she got mischievous out here, at the main gate for Kami's sake!

He set the piece of the mask down on the counter, and Anko looked at it curiously. With his nodded assent, she picked it up and examined it. She turned it around in her hands, then ran a finger along the rough edge of the chip.

"That belonged to a very special boy. I raised him since he was eight." Zabuza explained slowly. He hated revealing personal stuff, even to the snake woman that seemed to follow him everywhere. He looked past her (read: awesome) bust, thankfully hidden by her trench coat, and down the road. Besides Team Seven, there wasn't a person in sight. With most of the scheduled teams checked in for the day, and Kotetsu's shift fast approaching, it wouldn't hurt to take off a few minutes early. Besides, he still needed to grab his supplies for the Wave mission, and the mask needed to be framed as well.

"Hey, Anko," Zabuza said casually. She turned toward him and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Wanna come over to my place for a bit? I've got to pick up supplies for my mission tomorrow, but with what Naruto gave me, I'm gonna need some help with a little project." Zabuza asked, his eyes watching Anko's like a hawk. She met his gaze, then closed her eyes and chuckled.

"And what would this project require? I take it this mask has something to do with it?" Zabuza nodded and looked at the small piece of porcelain.

"Well, can you help a guy out?"

Anko swung her legs over the rim of the counter and hopped out of the booth, then turned to face Zabuza.

"Consider it a date." She said with a smug grin. A sweatdrop slid down the back of Zabuza's head, but he let it go. Rule number forty-seven of the shinobi survival guide: _If the bait is obvious, don't take it._ With a sigh, Zabuza stuck his papers into a folder and put them in a drawer under the counter. Then he turned to his sword, which was propped up against the wall, and slung it to his back, a miracle in such a small enclosure. He then dove out of the window and joined Anko outside, and they began walking towards the market district.

"By the way," Anko said slyly, "what's with you Kiri ninja and those giant swords? Compensating for something?" The question wasn't one that Zabuza saw coming, but he had gotten used to such taunts over the years. His victims, if they saw him, usually commented along the same lines. As such, he had long ago prepared a return quip.

"It's not compensation, baby. It's representation." He said coolly, and walked a little faster to make her jog. Anko smirked at his response, but didn't further the conversation about his 'other sword', though he knew she was just dying to.

* * *

Naruto and Brutus stood in the Hokage's office together, side by side as the old ninja observed them. Kakashi had ditched them, with an excuse along the lines of, "Oh, look! It's the Kakashi signal! Copy Ninja, away!" and a realistic-looking heroic leap. They had left Sasuke at the mercy of Konoha's local hospital and his most annoying fan girl, Sakura. His shrieks of pain and retribution still rang in Naruto's ears ("NO! Don't leave me with her! What happen to being best friends, you asshole! How can you leave me to this fate! No, Sakura get off me! HELP!). For some reason, though, Brutus appeared to be sadistically pleased at the young Uchiha's predicament. As it stood, the Sandaime was currently reviewing Brutus's request for temporary residence, and at the same time checking up on his favorite genin.

"Naruto. I hear you killed your first foe the other day." Sarutobi said wisely. He leaned forward in his chair and set his pipe down, a look of aged concern on his face. "Do tell what seems to be on our mind."

At first, Naruto didn't say anything, he just stared at the old man. The scene replayed in his mind over and over again: the spray of blood, the words that had left his mouth, the sheer anger he had felt; it all hit him like it had just happened all over again. Brutus glanced down at the boy and grimaced; he just _knew_ that Kamikirimusi was going to strangle him for this. Once they got her body back, of course. Finally, after a really long, uncomfortable silence, Naruto spoke.

"How did you feel the first time you killed someone, old man?" The stricken blonde asked quietly. He lowered his gaze as the memories assaulted him again, though their severity wasn't a potent as it had been. The aged Hokage leaned back in his chair and sighed, then put his pipe away. Normally, tobacco served to calm him, but he had no taste for it now.

"The day that I took my first life was so long ago," he said tiredly. A ghost of a smile flickered across Naruto's shadowed face, but it was gone so quickly the old ninja counted it as a trick of the light. Even so, he still bristled at the implied meaning.

"No old jokes from you, Naruto. Don't think I've forgotten the time you took my pipe, either." The Hokage warned good naturedly. Naruto's grin stayed there this time, and he seemed to brighten somewhat.

"Now, then," Sarutobi reminisced out loud, "I took my first life when I was ten, younger than you are now. A bandit had gotten into our client's house, and was about to kill the household butler." Naruto's grin faded once more at the sound of death. Even so, Sarutobi pantomimed blocking a downward stab and re-gripping to use the same blade to slash the throat of the attacker. "I killed the man in his attempt, and the rest of his ilk got the message." Naruto nodded slowly, and his somber expression deepened. Still, the death had been necessary. _Just like Dotou,_ he mused.

"For days, the man's eyes haunted me, and I kept replaying the scene over and over in my mind." The Hokage said sadly, and he reflected on how he had handled it. It had been rough, but he had come out all the better because of it.

Naruto looked back up at Sarutobi, his blue eyes glinting with understanding. He knew what Sarutobi was talking about, now he just needed the closure.

"How did you deal with it, old man? I mean, he had been bad, true, but..." Naruto trailed off again.

"I thought on it for a while, and I came to realize that had I not killed the man, he would have either killed the butler, or escaped to kill another innocent person. I took solace in the fact that I had saved the butler and more by ending that man's wretched life. And if what you say of Dotou is true, then you should come to reach the same conclusion in less time than it took me." Sarutobi said sagely. He watched Naruto's thoughts mingle with his words, and smiled slightly as he saw the pieces coming together for the young boy.

"I... I think I understand what your trying to say, old man." Naruto said slowly. Brutus and Sarutobi shared a knowing look; they both knew the boy would be alright.

"Take a few days off and relax, Naruto. You'll see what I mean in time. Your team is currently on hiatus, due to both the young Uchiha's injuries and his current...predicament." Sarutobi visibly smiled this time, and Naruto perked up.

"What's wrong with Sasuke?" He asked enthusiastically. His eyes had regained some of their bright cheerfulness, and the eagerness was back in his voice.

"It seems that Sasuke's 'fan club' has discovered his hospital room. While the boy himself is immobilized, I'm sure the girls are doing their best to nurse him back to health. How he feels about this, unfortunately, is another matter." The aged Hokage said with a chuckle, and Naruto grinned his foxy grin and snickered. Without another word, Naruto turned and ran out the door, on his way to assist Sasuke with his girl problems. That left Sarutobi and Brutus alone, a fact that they took full advantage of.

"So..." the Hokage said slowly, "You are the one they call Brutus." The immortal swordsman nodded curtly. Sarutobi studied the ancient warrior for some time, then reached for his pipe again. "What is your reason for following Naruto around?"

Brutus shifted his weight from foot to foot, but answered nonetheless.

"He is the container of a very dear friend of mine." Brutus said shortly. He didn't need to be specific; he could tell that the Hokage would be able to reason must from such a short statement. To his credit, the old ninja's eyes merely widened slightly, although the presence that Brutus sensed lurking in the shadows gasped quietly.

"You mean the Nine-Tailed Fox." Sarutobi said gravely. Brutus nodded again. Sarutobi sighed heavily and stood. Brutus tensed slightly, but still did nothing. The old man walked around his desk and stood before the ancient paladin. His eyes searched Brutus' own, and Brutus stared right back, unblinkingly. After what seemed like forever, Sarutobi blinked and broke the eye contact.

"I trust you are not out to harm my village?" Sarutobi asked quietly, danger lurking in his voice. Brutus picked up on it immediately, but he knew he had nothing to fear.

"My only concern is the welfare of a very dear friend of mine. That is all." Brutus said proudly. Sarutobi detected no misdirection or deceit in Brutus' voice, and nodded solemnly. Satisfied, he turned around and made his way back to his desk. Brutus breathed a sigh of relief, but he sensed another explanation brewing.

"Kakashi neglected to turn in his report today, so I'm going to have to ask you about the Kyuubi." Yeah, he was right. Brutus inwardly sighed at the number of times he would have to recount his age old tale.

"You want to know all about us, don't you?" He asked wearily. Sarutobi winced sympathetically, but still nodded in confirmation. Brutus finally caved walked over to the wall and leaned Buster against it. He chose the spot right next to their hidden observer, and made a point to look the man right in the eye. The man did nothing to give away his position, which impressed Brutus. The paladin then turned a pulled a comfortable chair up and sat down, the chair creaking as it took his weight.

"Many centuries ago, there were legends of two powerful blades: the Soul Calibur and the Soul Edge. The Soul Calibur represented all that was good in the world, and its sentient spirit sought to maintain balance in the world. But for good to bring balance, there must be an evil. And so, the Soul Edge was born, a twisted and evil blade that corrupted the soul of its wielder and bent him/her to its will. These two swords held great power, much to the envy of many men and women alike across the continent. From far and wide, warriors of both genders marched on the Tower of Lost Souls, in what is now Turkey. I too followed the enticing call of these blades, and made my way to the Tower. On my way, I encountered a fiery woman by the name of Kamikirimusi." Brutus searched the Hokage's gaze for any reaction, but Sarutobi showed no sign of recognizing Kiri's name. _Good, _he thought, _that means he doesn't know about the Trio._ Not meaning to stretch the silence, Brutus hastily continued.

"Instead of fighting, Kiri and I became quick friends, no doubt due to our similar weapons. As we traveled, I taught her my sword style, and she told me about her past. But more on that later. We fought up the Tower as a team, cutting down everyone in our path. We were seperated shortly before reaching the top, and I confronted the entity known as Nightmare. It was the Soul Edge incarnate; the evil sword had taken over a suit of armor, and made it its own. I fought Nightmare for hours, but at the end of the day, I stood victorious. I took the sword, and it tried to take me. But it failed." Brutus looked down at his gauntlet-covered hands, recalling the deeds he had done.

"Kiri showed up just in time to stop me. She coaxed enough of my humanity out of Soul Edge for me to realize that it was just a sword; its power depended upon its wielder. In an act of desperation, the sword gave me the power to manipulate souls, then ordered me to kill Kiri." Brutus smirked victoriously. "I refused."

"Kiri gave me another sword to replace the Soul Edge, and we descended together. On our way down, we encountered a man named Sairubi, who had been cursed to a ghostly pirate crew for all time. We freed him, and he agreed to join us in our travels. Since we all had the ability to live forever, we became known as the Trio of Immortals." At this revelation, Brutus heard Sarutobi's gasp of surprise. But he was certain it was more directly related to the immortality than to the Trio. After all, what old man wouldn't be surprised at the reality of immortality?

"We split up after a few good years. Apparently, Kamikirimusi went back to the Tower to confront Nightmare, in hopes of destroying Soul Edge. She defeated him, but he hit her with a blast of energy just as she attempted to return to her domain: the Land of Fire. This energy corrupted her temporarily, and sent her into a blinding rage. She took a more feral form, and attacked a nearby village. Specifically, Konohagakure." Brutus ended his tale breathlessly; he hadn't intended to speak for so long. Sarutobi sat silently, his pipe all but forgotten. An awkward silence settled in, and Brutus shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Sarutobi continued to process the information that he had been given, but made no movement to end the discussion.

_If he still views me as a threat, I may need to beat a quick retreat._ Brutus thought warily. He had no intention of slaughtering every able-bodied ninja in the village, but whoever attacked him would die. No exceptions. Should that situation arise, his first objective would be to get Kiri's host out of the village, by force if necessary. He wasn't too keen on losing his closest friend to chance.

Sarutobi finally sighed, and took a long drag on his pipe. He stopped and held in the smoke, letting the flavor seep in as it wafted throughout his sinuses and lungs, before exhaling slowly. Thus rejuvenated, he re-established eye contact with Brutus.

"What will you need to carry out your goals?" He asked simply. Demanding the paladin's plans in full would be a long, arduous, and ultimately fruitless endeavor, so he just decided to throw caution to the wind and give this man what he needed. _I'm really taking a leap of faith on this one, Naruto,_ he thought wearily, _if this goes south, we'll both be sprinting out of the village. And I wouldn't discard the idea of tripping you as we go._

"I only need a central place in the village," Brutus said earnestly. "From there, I can search for Kiri's corporeal body." Sarutobi's eyes widened quite a bit at this.

"Her body remains intact, even without a soul?" He asked incredulously. Sure, he was throwing out the history book with their immortality alone, but the body staying alive after the soul had been sealed away? His inner thoughts were deduced by Brutus, however, who shook his head.

"The Fourth Hokage didn't have the power to seal her entire soul into the boy. Had he done so, Naruto would have ceased to exist; there would only be Kamikirimusi. Rather, he implanted part of her soul into him, along with her energy. That way, her body still has something of a soul, although it is in a comatose state." Brutus stated knowingly. At this, Sarutobi resisted the strong urge to throw up his hands and yell 'Fuck it!'. He was the Hokage, and needed to show restraint; but this particular case was so confusing, and each answer brought too many questions with it.

"Fine, you may begin your search in the housing district; that's the closest thing to the center that we have for the village." The Hokage said tiredly. Brutus nodded and stood, then retrieved his blade from the wall. The paladin bowed slightly, then turned and left.

Sarutobi watched the door slide shut, then slumped forward. _I always knew that boy would be the death of me. Now look what he dragged me into._ Sarutobi lifted his head and looked at the hidden sentinel that had stood by for so long. The wall shimmered, and then slid back to reveal a man in a black trench coat with hard eyes, and a black do-rag on his head.

"Ibiki? What do you think?" Sarutobi asked tiredly. Ibiki Morino, the head of Konoha's Interrogation and Investigation team, chuckled and rubbed his chin.

"I think I'll sleep on it. That was way too much to take in at once." Ibiki joked gruffly. Sarutobi nodded in agreement. The interrogator continued. "His posture indicated that he was mostly at ease, implying that he was either telling the truth, or certain that he could kick our asses if we thought he was lying."

Sarutobi thought back to the image of Brutus, and imagined fighting such an old and powerful foe. "I think," he said to his subordinate with a wry smirk, "it was a little bit of both." That coaxed a smile out of the weathered interrogator.

* * *

Naruto took a hard corner a little to fast, and nearly knocked a nurse going by up against to the wall. He smiled sheepishly at her indignant 'Hey!', but didn't slow down. He sped down the hallway, startling patients, doctors, and visitors alike. He mostly ignored them. A lot of the people here were old, and that meant that they remembered the Kyuubi attack. More specifically, they knew who carried her.

_Two-forty-three, two-forty-three, ah ha!_ Naruto skidded to a halt outside of a corner room, which had more pace and a bigger window than most suites. Littered on the ground were all kinds of get well gifts for Sasuke; chocolates, flowers, poetry, the like. There was a small pile next to the door, which seemed a little worse for the wear. Dents and scratches covered the once shiny surface of the metal door. If Naruto didn't know any better, he'd have said that a great siege had taken place here. _Heck, maybe there WAS a battle,_ Naruto mused as he examined the damage. The door still stood, so Naruto ruled it a victory: Uchiha. He cleared his throat, then knocked on the door.

A harried, but no less emotionless voice echoed from inside. "Who is it?" Naruto chuckled again.

"It's Naruto. Lemme in, would ya?" Naruto whispered through the door, looking around for anymore fangirls. There was a pause, as whoever was on the other side talked with Sasuke. He heard a lot of locks being undone, before the door opened enough for him to get in. Naruto looked around one more time, then squeezed in quickly, and shut it behind him.

The first thing he saw was a rather wild-eyed Sasuke, clutching the bed in panic as Naruto stepped through the door. When he finally recognized his teammate, however, the Uchiha relaxed.

"It took you forever, dobe! You could have helped me!" Sasuke said angrily. Naruto just snickered and looked around. The suite was pretty clean, with a table and chair, a sink, and a bathroom. A TV sat across from the bed, so Sasuke could watch it if he wanted to. On the right side of the bed was a large window, which was framed into two separate windows. Sunlight streamed in, and lit the room quite well.

"I had to talk to the old man, so my hands were tied. Besides," Naruto jerked his hand back to the hidden person, who was re-locking the door. "he normally brings in more girls than you do."

"On the contrary, Naruto. I bring in less, but those are generally more determined." The mystery person said confidently. Naruto turned around to see Sasuke's temporary guard.

The last time Naruto had seen him, Itachi Uchiha had been sprinting away from a rather nasty looking pack of dogs. While Naruto and a few other shinobi had laughed at his misfortune, Hana Inuzuka had run past, encouraging her dogs to 'hold, not kill'. Needless to say, Itachi had escaped. With his normal ponytail and eye-lines, Itachi looked older than eighteen, and the ladies loved the mature look it gave him. Add that to his superb record and the fact that he had single-handedly killed the 'murderer of the Uchiha' had plenty girls clamoring for his attention.

As he stood before Naruto, the civilian-like garb he wore only deterred the less-than-determined kunoichi that pursued him. He wore a dark gray t-shirt and matching pants, and wore standard shinobi sandals. The Uchiha family crest was emblazoned across his back, the only shinobi-like article besides his sandals. And as Naruto examined him, he did seem a little beleaguered, no doubt from defending his brother from all the rabid kunoichi.

"Well, it doesn't matter. If you made a clone of him and took off, I'm sure they would chase you for a while." Naruto offered. Itachi smiled faintly, but shook his head.

"No, that wouldn't work. Little brother has attracted the attention of several Inuzuka, and I believe he even has a Branch member Hyuuga after him as well. Clones would be useless." No matter how much Itachi liked Naruto, he would shoot his ideas with the same deadly accuracy as he would a squad of enemy shinobi. Naruto shrugged indifferently and turned back to Sasuke.

"So, how long are ya in here, anyway?" He asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pointed to his chest, which was probably bandaged under the covers.

"Even though Brutus stopped me from, you know, _dying,_ I still need bed rest for roughly a week or so. I can walk around and such now, but anything too rough, like running away from all of those girls will reopen my internal injuries." He said, and look as if he regretted ever fighting Dotou. Not because he got hurt, but because getting hurt meant he would be tormented by all these girls. Even though he rarely voiced it, Sasuke hated relying on Itachi. He wanted to prove that he was just as good as his brother, and he wouldn't get any stronger hiding behind him.

Naruto whistled in sympathy. "Man, that sucks. And to think, all those kunoichi know exactly where you are. I don't think Itachi will be able to protect forever. He has a life, you know..." he said forebodingly, and winked at Itachi. The ANBU captain nodded slightly, catching on quickly.

"Yes, Naruto is right. In fact, I have a patrol coming up tomorrow, and I don't think an ANBU captain can show up to base without a shower and gear. Which means I'll have to leave at night, when kunoichi are known to lurk..." he trailed off sinisterly, and Sasuke stiffened in the bed.

"You...Your lying!" He said shrilly, and began to panic. Naruto nearly fell over and blew it right there, but managed to keep his laughter in. Itachi was much better in hiding his amusement.

"And to think, you'll be all alone, with no protection. Especially from Sakura – I heard she has some friends among the nurses. They'll sneak her in, and you'll be all alone...just the two of you...together." As Naruto said this, he gradually lowered the volume of his voice, until he was whispering. His words clicked in Sasuke's head, and he nearly broke the call button next to his bed. Naruto snickered again, and Itachi unlocked the door, while Sasuke nearly had a seizure visualizing everything he thought Sakura would do to him. After they waited a while, a blonde nurse finally came.

"Yes?" She asked politely, "Is there something wrong?" She eyed Sasuke's twitching eye, and glanced over at the snickering blonde in the corner.

"I want out today. I've recovered, I swear!" Sasuke said quickly, his eyes darting from the nurse to the open door behind her. The nurse looked taken aback by the urgent request, but picked up the clipboard hanging next to the door. She looked over it with a critical eye, then glanced over at Sasuke. The boy was too busy watching every person below their window suspiciously to meet her gaze, and the woman sighed.

"I guess we can release you, but we'll need your brother to take you home. And remember to take it easy; it's a miracle you even survived the wounds you took." She said sternly. Her words brought a flood of relief to Sasuke, and he breathing slowed down a little. He nodded his thanks and began to look around for his things. The nurse nodded to Itachi and Naruto, then closed the door. Naruto snickered again, then walked over to the door.

"Well, I've got stuff to do, so I'll be seeing you guys around. Get well soon, Sasuke!" With a backward wave, he opened the door and left, closing it quickly behind him.

Itachi smirked, then looked back over at Sasuke, who was pulling his shirt over his head. He slipped on his shorts, then nodded to Itachi. The older Uchiha nodded back, and they left together, Sasuke's stuff in hand. As they walked down the kunoichi-free hallway, Itachi cast a sidelong glance at his little brother.

"This Brutus Naruto mentioned earlier," he said quietly, "wouldn't happen to be _the_ Brutus, would he?" Sasuke smirked and dug into his pocket, then retrieved the autographed paper he had gotten earlier.

"Hell yes." The younger Uchiha said proudly.

* * *

A dark, forbidding chamber isn't a very welcoming place, according to some people. To Danzou, it was the next thing to home. A shinobi used the darkness to his advantage, and struck from the shadows. That very fact was what his entire ROOT organization had operating under for years. Deep within the Hokage monument, hidden by the faces of the previous and current Hokage, Danzou's ROOT had carved out there headquarters. The kilometers of rock between the base and the monument negated the abilities of the Hyuuga's Byakugan eye, and all other searching methods were canceled out by the well hidden entryways. In short, Danzou's secret base was, quite literally, under Sarutobi's nose. There was an entrance way through the right nostril, in fact.

Danzou pondered the marvelous idea it had been to construct a base here, and calmly walked along one of the many catwalks that ran across the immense shaft that the ROOT headquarters centered itself upon. The one-eyed old man smirked at his ingenious planning, but quickly hid it once more under a look of quiet consternation. He entered a hallway at the edge of the catwalk and took a right. The base was mostly empty, and the only sound was the tapping of his cane.

He reached a fork in the hallway, one way going left while the other went straight. As he had done for several years now, however, Danzou chose a third option: the heavy wooden door to his immediate left. The old man reached forward and brushed his finger against the wrought iron handle, and a shiver passed through the door. The barrier that restricted any other person from entering was lifted, and the door swung inward with a loud _creak_. This time Danzou allowed a small smile, and step inside.

The door closed behind him, leaving him in darkness for a moment. The room was quickly lit with torches on the walls, ignited once he had entered the room. The room itself was bare, with no furniture or appliances. Five tall columns stood in the center of the room. In the middle of the columns, surrounded by a special seal and several candles, was the body of a beautiful red-headed woman. She wore a black kimono that stopped at her knees, and her head was topped with two red fox ears, their interior solid black. A red vulpine tail curled from underneath her, its bushy fur matted down from being still for so long.

Danzou inspected the seal array, and watched in amazement as the woman's rather large breasts rose and fell in time with her breathing. This was the only body he had ever seen survive without a soul. When the Kyuubi had attacked and its soul had been sealed into the young Uzumaki boy, Danzou had mourned it as a tragic loss of troops and resources. But when his ROOT operatives had stumbled upon this human form of the fox, his interest had been piqued. Since then, seal experts and medics in his organization had examined the body, trying to determine how it still functioned without a soul. They had yet to come to a conclusion.

_Not to worry, though._ Danzou thought wryly, _We have all the time in the world._

With that thought, the aged commander of ROOT turned and exited the room. As the heavy door closed, all the torches extinguished themselves, and the room fell dark once more.

* * *

In the housing district, Brutus had established residence in a hotel, and had let the Hokage foot the bill. As such, he was staying in a middle class room, complete with all the necessities. Right now, he was using the bed. Clad once more in his training shirt and padded pants, the ancient paladin mentally searched the village for his friends body. He could feel the life force and souls of every person in Konoha, something he was using to his advantage. Brutus sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes closed as he meditated deeply.

Brutus could see the life forces and souls intertwining with each other, and each pair represented a person. As he concentrated, he tried to find a life force without the accompanying soul. He had found several comatose shinobi in the hospital that had long passed into oblivion while their bodies still lived. What he sought was similar; a demonic body, thriving with life force, but no soul. He had scanned the village thoroughly, but had found no trace of Kiri's body. As he 'zoomed out', as one might say, he discovered a person _inside_ the Hokage monument.

_You shouldn't be there, _he thought with curiosity. He expanded his search to encompass the Monument, or rather the area beneath it, and was surprised to find quite a few people down there. _I wonder if the Hokage is aware that he has a base beneath his village_, Brutus thought. Odds were against it. Brutus was about to return to his normal senses when he found her; a pulsing life force, but not much of an ethereal spirit attached to it. Excited at his find, Brutus tried to get a better feel for her location, but the rock and distance prevented him from doing so. With a sigh, Brutus opened his eyes. The ancient warrior stood up and walked over to the balcony and pulled open the screen. He stepped out and leaned onto the railing. The bustling village below would have been a passive vista for him to think on, but his hard eyes were locked onto the Hokage Monument. He smirked victoriously.

"Gotcha."

* * *

Ok, that one was fun. I'm going to bed now. I need at least two hours of sleep, and seven in the morning is fast approaching.


	12. Subterranean Subterfuge

I've been stuck in Amestris for a while, but now I'm back. But what's this? Not a single review for chapters 10 and 11? C'mon, I know it sucks, but you guys gotta give me some feedback or the story won't improve! With that out of the way, I would like to say that there will be a sequel to this thing. There will be two parts, maybe three, to this epic tale. That means that the characters will develop at a _slower_ rate than they would in a single story. No meeting in chapter four and screwing in chapter ten.

**Chapter 12: Subterranean Subterfuge**

Naruto could not _believe_ how bored he was. And that was saying something. Normally, he'd be able to coax Sasuke or Itachi into doing something worth while, although that usually ended up being a life-or-death game of hide-and-go-seek. Itachi had justified it as avoidance training, and Naruto would have burst out laughing had he not been dodging kunai and fire jutsu. He found himself in one of the areas that had been demolished by said games, the pitiful remains of training ground 45. He languished in a medium sized crater, arms behind his head. But with the two remaining Uchiha holed up in their compound and Sakura in the horde of kunoichi trying to get in, his options were limited. Sure, he could try to help Sasuke escape, but that would mean opposing Sakura, who would crush him without a second thought. The kunoichi had always expressed her thoughts with flying fists, and he doubted she'd make an exception when he tried to 'keep her away from her Sasuke'. _And she's my teammate,_ Naruto thought grimly.

He had always cared for Sakura, but the history was starting to scar. He would make offers of ramen, dates, trips to the monument and spas. He would always be open and friendly, casually ask or suggest. And he was sometimes successful, and they would spend a few hours together, then go their separate ways. He treasured these moments; they had both enjoyed themselves, and he had spent time with her in a relaxed atmosphere, with no Sasuke or enemy shinobi to distract them.

But something just seemed wrong. No matter how hard he tried to form a relationship, it just didn't click. It was like trying to put a puzzle together with the wrong pieces. Sure, they agreed on many things, shared a lot of interests, and enjoyed each others company. But it seemed that they would never progress past close friends. There were too many crossed wires. She was hung up on Sasuke. He was too hyper. She was serious, he was goofy. As he was reluctant to admit, opposites only attract when magnets were involved. _I guess some things just won't come to be. _He thought glumly.

Naruto groaned and stretched. What was wrong with him! Naruto Uzumaki didn't sit in a hole thinking down-in-the-dumps thoughts! He jumped up with a cry and shook his fist into the air.

"I bet Kakashi-sensei will have something for me to do!" he declared to the empty air. And with that, he turned and ran north, toward the village.

With life going slow in the Leaf village, old man Sarutobi had to accept a lot more missions to keep the village from being destroyed by the sheer volume of bored shinobi. Genin, chuunin, jounin; it made no difference. Every ninja had his/her own way of keeping busy, but reading Icha Icha and training had its limits. There were a few exceptions, like the Nara family, who were naturally lazy, or Might Gai, who trained to no end. But for the most part, Konoha's shinobi workforce was just that: a _work_force. Several hundred powerful shinobi going stir crazy was NOT a way to keep things running smoothly. So, in humored desperation, Sarutobi had declared that jounin and chuunin were no longer exempt from D-ranked missions. So, it became a common occurrence to see Asuma Sarutobi working in a garden, or Anko Mitarashi babysitting a group of pre-Academy students. At least, see her chasing them because they stole her dango. So it came to little surprise of Naruto's when he found Kakashi cleaning up the garbage at the cemetery.

Kakashi poked another can with his stick and put into the bag at his side. Around him, several cans, bento boxes, and other miscellaneous debris littered the cemetery. It wasn't a product of carelessness, so much as a case of Newton's third law: for every action, an equal an opposite reaction. Seimaru, one of Hana Inuzuka's ninja dogs, had accidentally torn a garbage bag on a previous clean-up detail. The wind had carried it into the cemetery, and the overall appearance was less than appealing. Thus, Kakashi Hatake, revered jounin and ex-ANBU captain, was given the mission to clean up the cemetery In truth, he really didn't mind. After being attacked by Snow ninja, fighting in a Great Shinobi War, and defeating several hundred evil ninja, a simple chore like this was welcome. It gave him time to think things over, and in a way, it was relaxing. It kept him busy and out of his apartment, too, so it served all kinds of purposes. _Besides, I like coming here. Can't have it all dirty._ Kakashi thought cheerfully as he placed another discarded bento box into his bag.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi poked another can, then looked up in curiosity. He nearly sighed in exasperation as he watched Naruto come charging through the entrance to the cemetery The blonde slowed his run to a trot and jogged up to Kakashi, his trademark grin plastered across his face. _One thing's for sure, _Kakashi thought, _Naruto's never out of energy._

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, whatcha doin'?" the blonde asked cheerfully. Kakashi smiled and hefted the bag of trash in his hand.

"Just cleaning up a few things. Can't have a sacred place like this covered in litter." Kakashi said easily. He glanced behind Naruto, then looked back at the blonde. "What's up? I would think you would be hanging around with Sasuke and Sakura." Naruto's grin faltered slightly, but he just shrugged.

"I figured the best sensei in the world could use some company, that's all. We can't leave you alone all the time, ya know!" Naruto said nervously, avoiding Kakashi's eye. The jounin frowned, and he sighed a little.

"Is the siege still going on?" He asked flatly. Naruto's shoulders drooped slightly and his smile faded to a disappointed frown as he nodded. Kakashi rolled his eye. "I see. I swear, those two boys get all the attention around here." And it was mostly true. The adult kunoichi couldn't take their eyes off of Itachi, the cool and aloof older brother. The younger generation (That made him feel old, thinking that way) saw Sasuke as the quiet, stern little brother that was almost as good as his sibling. Put the two in the same house, and kunoichi would flock from all over the village to attempt to woo the boys. What each individual girl/woman didn't realize was that their mass attempts were what eliminated them from ever having a chance with the boys; they were only seen as part of the crowd. Tell any of them that, however, and you'd get clocked before you finished speaking. It was the way of life.

_And the ladies don't even realize that with two guys, the odds of any one of them getting __lucky are abysmal,_ Kakashi thought wryly. Ever since the Uchiha massacre, Itachi had been considered a patriot as well. Evidence of the Uchiha clan's planned revolt had slipped out, to the chagrin and alarm of the Hokage and the Council. The populace had at first been in an uproar, one that had kept ANBU strung out for days. The Uchiha almost launched their coup d'etat, but the day they had announced that they would fight, nothing had happened. When a tentative squad of ANBU had approached the Uchiha district, they had found that the entire clan had been wiped out; the only Uchiha left alive were Sasuke and Itachi. After some investigation, it was found that the two had courageously killed the entire clan. Sasuke had nearly broken down when Itachi brought him out, but the two had stood resolutely while the villagers stared in awe at their blood-stained clothes and slashed clan symbols. It had been a sacrifice that Kakashi doubted Sasuke had ever fully recovered from. But the two were heralded as heroes, and were readily welcomed back into the fold of the village. Life had moved on into relative peace, and the only casualties of the Uchiha uprising were the Uchiha themselves.

_Well, that includes those two, I guess,_ Kakashi thought grimly. The boys had smiled before the massacre. Nowadays, smiles were rare out of either of them, except in the company of their friends. With the onslaught of kunoichi, they had a perfect excuse to stay indoors, too.

"I think I saw Sakura trying to beat down the front door," Naruto said dryly. "They have to be pretty strong." Kakashi chuckled and resumed picking up garbage. Naruto stooped and began picking up debris by hand. Together, they quickly removed all of the trash, which Kakashi put into a larger, stronger bag and tied up securely. He slung the trash up onto his shoulder, hefting the weight easily. He began to walk out of the cemetery with Naruto in tow when a thought struck him.

"Hey," the silver-haired instructor said while snapping his fingers, "what happened to your friend, Brutus? I'm sure he has something to do." He watched Naruto scrunch up his nose and think, then grin cheekily. He wasn't keen on getting rid of the blonde, but a constant nagging for training was a little annoying.

"You're right, Kakashi-sensei! I'm sure I can track him down somehow." The blonde said enthusiastically. Kakashi bowed extravagantly, sweeping his hand in front of him in an exaggerated fashion. The bag of garbage on his back didn't even move.

"Glad to spread my wisdom to the younger generation," he said airily. Naruto chuckled at his antics, then hopped up onto a nearby wall.

"See ya later, Kakashi-sensei!" He yelled with a wave. Kakashi waved back, and watched his young pupil disappear over the wall and out of sight. Kakashi let his arm fall, then sighed heavily. _I wonder if things will ever actually be normal with a genin team,_ he wondered as he stepped out of the cemetery. He turned left and walked down an alleyway, flanked on each side by a wooden fence. _Now that I think of it, though, this probably IS normal._ He realized with a thoughtful 'hmm'. As he walked deeper into the alley, he came upon a pair of dumpsters. With a flick of his wrist, the garbage flew from his shoulder, through the air, and into the green containers. Satisfied, the Copy Ninja dusted off his hands and stuck them in his pockets. He turned and walked back out of the alley, whistling a tune. _I think I'll give Pakkun a bath today. He doesn't smell so good, and he's avoided it long enough._

* * *

Naruto hopped, skipped, and jumped over the rooftops of residential areas, heading into the center of the village. The civilian population referred to the rooftops as the 'Shinobi Highway'. With so many people in the village, and the buildings so close together, a ninja in a hurry can dash across the village with ease by taking the high ground. It was this path of interlinked rooftops that Naruto dashed across, heading for a medium-sized motel next to the Hokage tower.

"Maybe Brutus will be able to tell me more about the Trio," Naruto said to himself as he leapt over a particularly low roof, not even thinking about the jump. He landed on the other side and jumped onto a power line, which he crossed easily. On the other side, he found himself on a higher building than his target, which lay just below him. _Let's see,_ the blonde thought as he scratched his head, _the old man said that Brutus was in room 1023, so that means he should be on the tenth floor..._ Naruto mentally counted up from the bottom, and found that there were twelve floor in all. He stood and nodded to himself, then ran back a little to get a running start. After all, a nearly straight jump required a running start, even for a ninja. He stopped next to the power line, then took a deep breath. _Alright, let's do this!_ He thought. Naruto charged forward, his sandals slapping against the concrete roof as he rapidly gained speed. The edge of the roof approached quickly, and his legs tensed as he prepared to jump-

"Hey, Naruto!"

With a startled cry, Naruto locked his legs forward, trying to skid to a stop. His momentum carried him forward, until he passed over the edge. The blonde looked down at streets below him in surprise, but had the presence of mind to latch onto the side of the building with his hand, using his chakra to adhere to its surface. Annoyed, he looked up and yelled, "Hey, what's the big idea? I could have fell!" Without waiting for an answer, the irritated blonde clambered up the side of the roof to face the one who would so blatantly throw off his concentration.

When he crested the roof, he found not one, but three silhouettes in the shade of a nearby water tower. Their shapes were blurred by the darker shadow of the water tower, but one thing was certain: they were short. With a resigned sigh, he set his hand on his hip and shook his head.

"What do you want, Konohamaru?" He asked boredly. A surprised outburst came from the shadows, and a boy with some serious wardrobe problems revealed himself. (Everyone's seen him, I ain't describing him...partly because I haven't got a clue what that weird helmet thing is) Konohamaru Sarutobi stepped out of the shadow with an indignant scowl on his face.

"That's no way to greet the future Hokage, ya know!" He said loudly. Naruto smirked at this, and his annoyance vanished almost immediately. One thing was for sure: Konohamaru always lightened the mood.

"Well, the future Hokage shouldn't be scaring people off of rooftops!" Naruto shot back good-naturedly. Konohamaru only blew a raspberry in response, but his scowl eased back into a grin. Almost on cue, the other two shadows materialized into Konohamaru's two teammates and friends: a bespectacled boy in a blue turtleneck with a runny nose named Udon, and a red head with two pig tails and a pair of goggles around her neck named Moegi. Together, they were the Konohamaru Corps; the well known subordinates to the prank king, Naruto Uzumaki.

"So, Boss; what do ya wanna do today?" Konohamaru asked eagerly, his grin nearly splitting his face. Ever since Naruto had rescued the little Sarutobi from his ill-suited (read: retarded) tutor, Ebisu, Konohamaru had looked up to Naruto like a big brother. And like the little brother he acted as, he was always an accomplice in Naruto's dastardly schemes. Naruto smirked at the memory, then looked back at the hotel that he had been heading to. _Well, I guess __I can ask him tomorrow,_ Naruto decided. _Besides, it's not like anything important is going to be happening today._

"Alright, you guys; I got something." He said with a conspiratory grin. All three Academy students smiled eagerly and scooted in closer to the mastermind.

"Here's what we're gonna do..."

* * *

"I'm telling you, there are _people_ behind the monument. I could see at least a hundred shinobi walking around in some huge complex back there!" Brutus said earnestly. The Hokage did not respond. The old man took another long drag on his pipe and remained silent. He let the smoke waft through his sinuses and enjoyed the smoky flavor. But for some reason, it wasn't as soothing as normal. With a displeased frown, he looked up at the immortal swordsman before him.

"You're not from around here, so the implications here may escape you. But a few years ago, a councilman by the name of Danzou was found cultivating a secret organization amongst my ANBU. They were known as the Foundation, or ROOT for short." Brutus remained silent, but the Hokage could see the gears in his head turning as he processed the information. _Good,_ the old man thought. _He's been around long enough to grasp the politics that Danzou and I have played for far too long._

"These shinobi were well trained, and they served Danzou and Danzou only. An organization of this magnitude was obviously a great threat to the village as a whole, and I ordered the whole operation to be discontinued." Sarutobi's gaze hardened. "If what you say is true, then my instructions were ignored, or Danzou has revived his order. In either case, I see that harsher methods must be used." Sarutobi stood and tapped the ashes out of his pipe into a nearby ashtray. On cue, an ANBU materialized seemingly out of thin air. He wore a kitsune mask, and a shock of brown hair shot out from behind the mask. The man bowed in respect.

"Your orders, Lord Hokage?" He asked expectantly. The Hokage did not acknowledge him at first, but rather looked out the window, at the bustling village that had grown under his care for many years. A despondent look crossed his aged face, and he sighed heavily. As he looked out at the busy traffic of villagers going about their daily lives, unaware of the lies and deceit being practiced by their leaders, he felt a small pang of apprehension. But it was gone as quickly as it had come. _I realize that Danzou has always tried to undermine my rule,_ Sarutobi mused sourly, _but the village still flourishes. I can only hope that my next move doesn't leave Minato rolling in his grave._ The Hokage gathered himself, then finally turned to the waiting ANBU.

"Mobilize the ANBU Black Ops, divisions five through seven. I want Danzou in this office in ten minutes and not a second later. Tell the captains that operation Tapeworm has been reinstated." The Hokage said sharply. Fox nodded quickly, and turned to leave.

"And Fox..." the ANBU turned and looked at his leader expectantly. The old man wondered if it was overdoing it a bit, but he had to be sure.

"Notify Dog and Weasel that they are to lead the operation. Make sure you are not spotted by any ANBU on the black list, either." Fox nodded again, and disappeared in a swirl of papers. Brutus whistled appreciatively, then turned to the Hokage.

"And what would you have me do?" He asked innocently, trying to hide his large sword behind his back. The Hokage smirked slightly.

"You said that your friend was in that mountain?" Brutus nodded. "Then you're going to go get her."

* * *

Naruto looked down at the bustling city streets, eagerly searching for his target. Behind him, situated behind a row of air conditioners, was the Konohamaru Corps. They eagerly awaited further instruction, while the blonde in front of them scanned the area for their next piece in the epic scheme. Naruto squinted as he checked the rooftops, alleyways, and side streets for one kind of person: an ANBU member. All of their preparation fell on obtaining one of the ANBU's animal masks, which were unique and not sold in any store. Not only were they especially adept at covering one's face, they also brought with them the assumption that whoever wore one was a member of ANBU.

Naruto was about to give up and move to another vantage point when a blur of motion caught his eye. He grinned and chuckled as a black blur dashed across the rooftops. He turned back to his subordinates and said quietly, "Let's go." His followers nodded eagerly, and followed him as he jumped from their vantage point. The four dashed across rooftops, keeping their quarry in sight as he moved quickly across the village. They continued to follow from a distance until the ANBU stopped off at a familiar place: the Uchiha district. The ANBU paused when he landed on the roof of the main building, his attention attracted to the horde of fangirls attempting to knock the front door off of its hinges, using an unwilling Chouji Akamichi as a battering ram. His cries of 'Hey, let me go! That hurts! OW!' went unheard as the hormonal females tried in vain to break down the door to the Uchiha estate. The ANBU chuckled at the young genin's misfortune, then turned to look for another way in.

As the ANBU turned, Naruto caught sight of his mask: a red kitsune mask. _Perfect!_ The prankster extraordinaire thought with a smile. The ANBU found a secret door in the roof, and slipped in. And a few seconds later, Naruto and the Konohamaru Corps followed.

Inside, the ANBU quickly moved around in the compound. He ran down several flights of stairs until he reached the ground floor. He dashed out into the main courtyard, where he found Sasuke and Itachi hurriedly stacking large pieces of furniture up against the front gate. Naruto and his followers peeked around the corner of the house they were in, straining to hear the conversation. Unfortunately, Naruto could only pick up bits and pieces with his above-average hearing as the Fox ANBU relayed a message to Itachi while Sasuke hefted a large table.

"Hokage... return to duty... Tapeworm... lead the... Hatake." That was all Naruto could hear before the two men nodded, and Fox leapt away over the wall, a technique the crazy women outside took no notice or inspiration from. Itachi turned and said something to Sasuke, who blanched and began begging for help. Itachi could only smile and shake his head. Sasuke looked like he was about to pout, a fact that made Naruto sorely regret forgetting to bring a camera. Then, Itachi poked his little brother on the forehead, then turned and began walking toward the main house – right in the direction that Naruto and his followers were hiding. Startled, Naruto turned around and whispered, "Hide, quick!" With that, the four shadows dashed into various hiding places: Udon behind a large television set, Moegi in a cabinet in the kitchen, and Konohamaru under the stairs. This left Naruto, however without a hiding spot. Sweating bullets, the panicking blonde looked all around for a hiding spot. _If Itachi finds me in here, he'll kill me!_ Naruto thought worriedly. Sadly, no hiding spot met his gaze. He heard Itachi step onto the pavilion and walk up to the door, and Naruto dashed toward an open door, which he closed behind him just as Itachi entered the main room.

Itachi looked around momentarily, then shrugged and shut the door. He walked briskly across the room and toward a closed door – the very door Naruto had just disappeared into. As he came near each one, the members of the Konohamaru Corps began to sweat and were each silently praying that they wouldn't be found. Miraculously, the Uchiha never even glanced in their directions. He opened the door quickly and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. A tense moment of silence seemed to hang in the air as the Konohamaru Corps began to wonder about the fate of their leader.

A bump echoed from the room, followed rapidly by three more. Konohamaru knew the jig was up, but remained in his hiding spot; if the Boss was going to get in trouble, he sure wasn't going down with him. Several scenarios ran through Konohamaru's mind, but he decided to hope that Itachi would let all off easy by only kicking Naruto's butt.

The door slid open to reveal a downtrodden Naruto being pushed out of the room by Itachi, now clothed in his ANBU gear. The man had changed so fast, even Naruto seemed amazed. Itachi stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and a disappointed frown on his face.

"Honestly, Naruto," he said scoldingly, "it's bad enough that all the women in the village are knocking on our door. But someone is trespassing in our very home..." The ANBU captain shook his head, and Naruto's head fell in shame. The Uchiha rolled his eyes flicked Naruto on the nose. The blonde groaned in pain and annoyance and rubbed his nose, then looked up at Itachi.

"Why were you following Fox, anyway?" Itachi asked sternly. Naruto remained calm on the outside, but inside he was torn between two decisions. _If I tell him we need a mask, he may stop us from going through with our prank,_ Naruto thought quickly, _but if I don't tell him the truth, he'll see through it quicker than I say it._ He mentally weighed the pros and cons of both options, then resolutely came to a decision. _We can ask him for a spare, then we won't have to find another ANBU. If he says no, then we can always find another one._

"You wouldn't happen to have another ANBU mask, would you, Itachi?" Naruto asked in a hopeful tone, blinking rapidly at Itachi in a sorry attempt at pleading. Itachi's expression didn't change, but he knew one thing; whatever Naruto and his little friends (whom Itachi had detected as soon as he had entered the room) had planned, it weighed on them getting a mask. And if Naruto's pranks were anything, they were amusing. He considered sending them on their way empty-handed, but the mischievous side of him wanted to help. And contrary to popular belief, Itachi was _very_ mischievous The older Uchiha reached back into the room and grabbed his old Bear mask from his early days and handed it to Naruto. The blonde stared down at the mask in shock, then looked back up at Itachi with a wide grin on his face.

"The ANBU will know that is a spare, but the general population won't be able to tell the difference," Itachi said with a hint of humor in his voice, "Whatever you four plan on doing, make it good. And please, bring the mask back when you're finished." Naruto nodded eagerly, turning the mask over in his hands as the plan raced through his mind. Itachi smirked at the boy's enthusiasm, then ruffled Naruto's hair and walked past him. Naruto snickered in a conspiratory fashion, then motioned to his cohorts. As one, they assembled on top of the house and disappeared, streaking across the rooftops in the light of the dying sun. As they left, Naruto caught a glimpse of the front gate finally caving in, and watched with sympathetic humor as Sasuke bounded out of the compound and down a side street, the crowd of kunoichi following behind him. _I only hope he doesn't want to visit the monument today,_ Naruto thought with a snicker.

* * *

Brutus tightened the final strap on his pauldron under his arm, then turned to look in the mirror. A crimson warrior stared back at him, for all appearances ready to wipe out an army. Brutus scratched his chin idly, then turned and grabbed a red cloak from his closet. The bottom was cut in a jagged pattern, but the rest of it was all one cloth; a rarity among cloaks. Two bronze studs held together with a bronze chain attached the blood red cloak to his armor. Emblazoned on the back was the roman numeral for three (III), the thread colored black for a dark and foreboding look. With his fighting style, it wouldn't hinder him; the movement of his body would keep the cloak out of the way of his Buster, and it tended to stay close to the body anyway. The cloak covered his shoulders, and framed his posture in an intimidating way, making him seem bigger than he actually was. With a thoughtful look, he held the studs in front of him and turned to the mirror. Cloak. He set it down on the bed behind him, then turned back to the mirror. No cloak. He grabbed it again. Cloak. He set it back down. No cloak. _Ah, I look badass with it on, anyway. _He thought with a sinister grin. The ancient swordsman grabbed the cloak and fastened it around his neck, then turned and headed to the door, Buster beneath his (awesome) cloak.

After fifteen minutes of walking down stairs, getting scared looks in the streets, and climbing more stairs, Brutus found himself in front of roughly fifteen ANBU, all clad in black clothes with gray chest guards, shin guards, and arm guards. They all wore animal masks, but they seemed familiar enough with each other. In front of the assembled ANBU was a shinobi wearing a weasel mask and another ANBU, one with strikingly familiar silver hair. He approached the familiar shinobi, who looked over at him... emotionlessly. The drawn-on eyes were a little disconcerting, but Brutus wasn't fazed.

"You wouldn't happen to be-" the ancient swordsman was cut off by Dog raising his finger to his mask. Brutus frowned at being interrupted. The shinobi nodded at his unfinished question, then turned the mask slightly so that a single dark eye was revealed. The eye winked, and Brutus' suspicions were confirmed – Dog's true identity was Kakashi Hatake. Dog quickly slid his mask back into place, and turned back to his companion.

The sound of cloth rustling in the wind caught everyone's attention, and they all turned to see the Hokage, clad in his robes and (awesome) hat. At his appearance, the assembled ANBU knelt simultaneously. Brutus just nodded in his direction. No matter his station, Sarutobi wasn't his superior. On top of that, Brutus was older, despite his youthful appearance. Hokage or no, Brutus answered to no man.

Sarutobi nodded to his subordinates, who all stood at the same time. He swept his arm back to gesture at the Hokage monument, which sat right behind him. His voice boomed across the rooftop, but seemed to fade as it reached the edge. It was almost as if his voice was concentrated on the area they were standing in, and was heard nowhere else.

"Tonight, we correct a problem that has been festering for far too long. Tonight, ROOT will be removed. Tonight, we ensure the security of our village. Tonight, Danzou breathes his last!" Sarutobi said gruffly. Normally, a group of shinobi would let out a fierce war cry. But these were the ANBU elite; ANBU did not cheer. As one, they nodded, then jumped away. Not a sound was made. No ruffle of cloth, no impact of feet. Just silence. The only two on the rooftop now were Brutus and the Hokage. Both watched the dark shadows disappear into the night, until not an ANBU was visible. Brutus turned to the leader of the Leaf.

"Do you think this will be easy?" He asked quietly. Sarutobi didn't look at him, but Brutus could see the sad frown on the old man's face all the same.

"Fighting is never easy, Brutus. And it's made all the harder when your foe is someone from your own village." Sarutobi said sadly. Brutus blinked, then realized exactly what he was looking at; an old man weighed down with the problems of his village, and a man who just ordered the deaths of many of his fellow villagers. The scene saddened Brutus, but he didn't dwell on it. The Hokage was the leader of his village. And even though he was not burned at the stake, nailed to a cross, or fighting a horde of enemies, he was a martyr all the same. _As all great leaders are,_ Brutus thought grimly. Together, the two descended the stairs, and made their way to the monument. When they reached an entrance, Sarutobi turned and faced Brutus.

"When you get in there, extract your friend and get out," the old man said firmly. "Immortal or not, I won't have someone like you running around _my_ battlefield. Are we clear?" Brutus nodded.

"Crystal." The Hokage smiled grimly, then turned and allowed Brutus to pass. The giant drew Buster from beneath his cloak, and looked down at it. Even though it was black, the blade seemed to gleam in the light of the full moon, which shone in the reflection behind Brutus. It was almost as if the sword anticipated the coming battle. The swordsman smirked, then turned to the door. He set his shoulders, then moved forward. At exactly 9:30 P.M., the Red Death stalked into the monument of the Hokage. He would not return until six o' clock the next morning.

* * *

Naruto snickered as his cohorts pulled the tarp off of a third pile of paint cans. They stood inside of a small maintenance shed just above the Sandaime's head on the monument. It was this particular storage shed that held all of Naruto's confiscated pranking tools. All around the room, various trick items sat on shelves: whoopie cushions, rubber chickens, paint bombs, the works. And the ANBU had possessed the audacity to hide the prank king's tools _all in one place_. Their foolishness got another mischievous snicker out of Naruto. He turned around and looked outside at their guard. Standing there in a black cloak and a bear mask was one of his clones. To a casual observer, an ANBU was standing guard while his unseen colleagues got something in the shed. To a Hyuuga observer, Naruto was up to his old tricks again, but it wasn't worth stopping him. Thus, Naruto was about to get away with his greatest scheme ever-

A thump echoed from outside, and the Konohamaru Corps stopped their picking and looked outside. Naruto sweatdropped as a kunai pierced the chest of his clone, dispelling it in a puff of smoke and leaving behind the mask and kunai. Immediately after, three ANBU landed in the clone's spot, arms crossed. Weasel, Dog, and Owl all stared at Naruto behind their emotionless masks. No one spoke, which told Naruto that something was up. He motioned for the Konohamaru and his friends to stop, then chuckled nervously.

"Hey guys. I guess ya caught us, hehehe." He said nervously, rubbing the back of his head. The ANBU looked at each other, then shook their heads in unison. Weasel reached up and grabbed his mask, then pulled it off to reveal Itachi Uchiha. Naruto cried out in alarm, then stabbed an accusing finger at the now unmasked Weasel.

"You're in ANBU? No fair! That's why you beat us all the time, jerk!" He said loudly. Konohamaru looked from the emotionless Uchiha to his outraged boss in wonder. _Boss takes on ANBU in his spare time? Wow._

Itachi smirked at Naruto's outburst, but the tilt of the mouth was gone before anyone really noticed. He reached down and grabbed his spare Bear mask, then pocketed it in his weapon pouch. Meanwhile, Dog and Owl walked past the Konohamaru Corps and their confused leader and began moving things around. Naruto glanced back at the two, then looked back at Itachi.

"C'mon," he pleaded, "it was going to be a really cool prank..." Again, Itachi didn't answer at first. Naruto looked at the ground, then turned around to address his cohorts. "Come on, guys, let's go." He said despondently. The three Academy students groaned in defeat. Naruto turned and tried to walk past Itachi, but was stopped as the Uchiha set his hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"We're not here to stop your prank, Naruto. But you should remain clear of this area. It is about to get very dangerous." Itachi cautioned. As soon as the spark dashed across Naruto's eyes, he knew he should have worded that better. However, the blonde just kept walking forward towards the stairs, his Academy cohorts right behind him. Itachi watched them go, a doubtful from on his face. _I don't think we've seen the last of him._ Itachi thought to himself. But they would worry about that later. With a shrug, Itachi turned back to Dog and Owl, who had successfully cleared away the floor so that a hidden panel could be opened. The wood floor came up silently, and it fit the floor perfectly. The hinge on the inside allowed for a seamless floor. As intriguing as the design was, however, they were through the panel and down the hidden stairs within seconds. They had moved so quickly, in fact, that they hadn't noticed the mischievous chuckling of an approaching Naruto. The blonde waited a few moments, to allow the three ANBU some time to get down the stairs. Then, just as quietly as they had done, he drew up the panel and descended into the monument as well, mischief dancing through his head.

* * *

Danzou sat in his command center quietly, sipping a calming cup of tea. His bandages were partially removed, allowing both of his arms freedom to move and stretch. Appearances be damned, that sling was annoying! Danzou looked down at his naked right arm, and smirked at the Sharingan eyes fused inside of it. It had been quiet a chore, securing the eyes of the Uchiha. But it could have been worse. With at least one operative on every shift in the morgue, it was easy pickings removing the eyes. Hell, the only hard part had been getting them out of the morgue. No one particularly cared if a traitorous clan had no eyes upon burial. So, each operative in the three shifts brought up several pairs of eyes in their lunch boxes for several days, in different intervals, until at last Danzou had fourteen Sharingan eyes fused to his arm, and one in his right eye socket. So, with fifteen Sharingan eyes, he was far more powerful than the withered old invalid that he appeared to be. _And that is how it should be,_ Danzou thought to himself, _nothing is as it seems in the world of shinobi._ As he relaxed on his large couch, Danzou couldn't think of anything that could ruin his night.

Hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway, and the door leading outside burst open to reveal a ROOT operative, wearing the standard gray cloak and his hair in a ponytail.

"Lord Danzou!" the operative cried. The not-so-crippled leader of ROOT turned to his subordinate with a frown. "There are ANBU inside the base! At least thirty of them! Weasel and Dog are here as well!" the operative said, panic evident in his voice. Danzou's visible eye widened, and he grit his teeth in frustration. _Damn you, Murphy._

The withered leader looked up at his subordinate and began snapping orders. "Close off research labs Alpha through November! Have all the documents in the safes downstairs destroyed, and eliminate all unessential personnel." Danzou barked. The man nodded nervously, then dashed back into the hallway, leaving Danzou to his thoughts. The old man quickly re-wrapped his arm and grabbed his cane. Ready to leave, he turned to the recently vacated doorway. At his normal slow walk, the leader of the Foundation made his way to research laboratory Omega, where his most precious project was kept. _If that blade can't stop them, then it can at least carve an escape out for us,_ he thought grimly.

* * *

Kamikirimusi sat in her cell, twiddling her fingers as she watched Naruto follow the ANBU down the stairs and into the monument. She knew that this would be risky, but who was she to tell the king of mischief that this was a bad idea? An immortal fox demon that escaped from Hell, sure, but that wouldn't sway him enough to stop. And as she sat, she tried to ignore the feeling of revulsion that accompanied one of her senses: even though she was deep within the bowels of a seal, she feel the tainted, evil aura of the Soul Edge, her worst enemy. She watched Naruto take a left when the ANBU had obviously taken a right, and cocked a brow when he stood before a door with 'Research Lab Alpha' stenciled onto a sign right next to it. The door had a circular window near the top, but the pipsqueak she had been sealed inside of was too short to reach it.

"I wonder what's in here?" she heard him say through the monitor. The demoness rolled her eyes at his complete lack of tactics. But, he wasn't entirely aware that a near civil war was being fought right under his feet, so she was going to let his carelessness slide for now. _When I get out, though,_ she thought with a frown, _he'll learn to be so sneaky he won't be able to hear his own thoughts._ That being said, all Kiri could do was watch the idiot trudge past research labs, each of them locked. Labs Beta, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, etc. were all locked and, from the looks of it, burning. It was almost as if someone was purging evidence.

"And everyone loves a nice piece of evidence," she said to herself with a smirk. Even though she had no stomach, microwave, or butter, Kamikirimusi couldn't help but wish for some popcorn.


	13. The Secret Battlefield

Sorry about the delay, folks. I went to Florida for a couple weeks, did some dog training. Little stuff. Problem was, I couldn't take my computer with me. So here's the next installment. A little forewarning, I have been playing Dead Space 2 online recently, so the next few fights might be a tad... gruesome. Just throwing that out there. Anyway... TAUNT BUTTON! **For Whom the Bell Tolls** by _Metallica_.

* * *

**Chapter 13: The Secret Battlefield**

The metal stairs that Brutus found himself descending weren't really what he had expected. He wasn't really looking forward to spiked pillars, spitted corpses and such, but the humble service stairs that he found himself cautiously negotiating were a little to innocent for a secret underground base. Then again, the only reason he was pondering the motives of a flight of stairs was because he had been going down the same flight for _five minutes._ Seriously, how deep was this base? Brutus frowned and looked over the edge, keeping Buster on the other side to counterbalance his weight. The stairs continued on into infinity, or at least deeper down into the abyss. Which meant that he would be going down for at least another hour. "You have got to be kidding me," the swordsman muttered incredulously.

As he looked at the walls surrounding the shaft, he noticed that there were numerous passageways in the rock. They were rectangular, reaching upward about three meters, and were each a meter and a half wide. They were uniform, and they were _everywhere._ The swordsman furrowed his brow, and glanced back up into the shaft, where he had been five minutes prior. Sure enough, the odd imperfections in the wall circled back up to the top. But he had been sure that they hadn't been there when he had first descended. _Is this some sort of trick? _Brutus wondered, and took another step. Instantly, the passages disappeared from his view, leaving only blank rock where they had been. The swordsman cocked a brow, and stepped upward again. The passages reappeared again, and he snapped his fingers.

"Of course. They probably used an illusion to hide their entrances." He said quietly to himself. It would have required an extremely skillful illusionist to cover the whole shaft, and whoever did it had apparently missed a spot. Brutus glanced along the wall, toward the nearest passage. He kept staring at it, and moved forward. It disappeared from his sight, but he could still remember where it was. Hesitantly, he put his foot up onto where the floor of the passage would have begun, and it passed seemingly through the wall. Reassured, Brutus stepped up into the passageway – only to run straight into a brick wall, nose first. He cursed loudly and staggered back, losing his balance. The heavy swordsman fell back onto the stairs, and began to roll down them in a painful, loud heap. He bounced, rolled, swore, and hurt all the way down, picking up speed as he went. The spinning room made him dizzy, and Brutus could feel his dinner coming up. Right when he thought he was going to turn into a rolling vomit machine, the hard iron stairs gave way to harder cold concrete. He landed in a heap, dazed from both the spinning and the numerous hits to his head. He didn't move for a time, allowing the dizziness to pass and the annoyance and embarrassment to fade away. _I really, REALLY hope no one saw that._ The disoriented man thought as the room slowly stopped spinning. He prepared himself to sit up, but froze when he heard approaching footsteps.

"Did you hear it too?" A deep voice asked from Brutus' right. Instinctively, Brutus closed his eyes and played possum. Sure enough, another, higher-pitched voice answered. "Yeah, it sounded like some pushed a trashcan down the staircase." That remark almost made Brutus twitch, but he controlled himself. _Strike one,_ he thought acidly. Blind to the world, the footsteps came closer, until one pair of feet came to just above Brutus' head.

"Ha, I was right!" The second man said gleefully. "It WAS a trashcan! And that surfboard he's holding probably broke a stair or two!" That really annoyed Brutus; he really liked Buster, and it was one of the few gifts that had lasted his lifetime. _Strike two, you little weasel._

He felt fingers pry Buster from his grip, while another hand grasped his chin. The deep voice was much closer now, probably kneeling.

"He's still alive, just unconscious. Let's kill him and take his things. With such a custom look, it's probably worth a lot." He suggested, and Brutus heard a knife leave its sheath. Brutus struggled to get a feel for where the blade was, and mentally prepared himself to catch the knife.

"Yeah yeah, let's stash it in the other room with the swag. Probably won't get much, though..." The younger ROOT operative said decisively. _Strike fucking three, you little shit._ Brutus' eyes snapped opened, startling the man kneeling over him. He wore a blank ANBU mask, and standard ANBU armor and black clothing. Instead of the Konoha symbol, however, there was only a tree on his forehead. His bald head seemed out of place behind the mask, but it still looked nice when Brutus reached up and snapped his neck with a sickening crunch. The man went limp, and dropped his knife into Brutus' waiting grip. The swordsman turned toward the second operative, the cocky little punk that had stolen Buster. He found the youth cowering neck to a third, silent comrade, his mask slightly askew.

"He-he killed the captain!" The young ROOT squeaked. Brutus smirked and threw his captured kunai toward Buster. Since it wasn't coming directly towards him, the third ROOT didn't move. A big mistake on his part, and the knife ricocheted off of Buster and bounced into the small of his back, slicing into his spine. The man cried out in pain, then fell forward. His feet twitched slightly, but were otherwise cut off from his brain. The young man jumped back in horror, letting Buster fall to the ground. Brutus, frown still in place, stalked toward the young ROOT. He walked so that the fallen operative was directly in his path. Right when it looked like he would sidestep the stricken warrior, Brutus brought his size fifteen boot down right on the man's head, and a loud crack resounded through the air as his skull fractured. The young ROOT was now the only one remaining, and he seemed to notice.

"No. No! Please, don't kill me!" He cried in desperation, and attempted to jump over Brutus' head and escape. He slipped however, as his foot passed over Buster's smooth side. This gave him a lot less height than he had hoped for, and put his course directly over Brutus' head. The swordsman smirked, and sent a powerful punch upward as the helpless youth passed over him. The blow landed right in the poor kid's balls.

A high-pitched scream filled the chamber as the boy's testicles ascended from their assigned place in his anatomy and into his inner plumbing. Brutus let the boy fall to the ground, and shook his head in disgust as the operative grabbed his nut sack in a futile attempt to reclaim his brain-bound balls.

"Ack...aww...ooh...duh..." was all the boy could manage, before he went into a coughing fit. Brutus ignored him and picked up Buster, slinging the large blade onto his back. He heard the young man's mask clatter to the ground, and turned to see two pink balls hanging from the boy's mouth. (I know it's not possible, but still...) Even Brutus grimaced in sympathy, and decided to have mercy on the kid. He walked over to the newly minted girl and delivered a hard kick to the base of his neck, killing him by snapping his atlas vertebrae. (Yeesh, I wrote that and I'm in pain.)

"Foolish boy. You _never_ touch a swordsman's blade without permission." Brutus said disapprovingly to the corpse. With that said, he turned to the direction the ROOT operatives had come from, and found a hallway. Too miffed to climb the stairs again, he strode into the hallway, his hand grasping Buster's handle.

* * *

Naruto followed the hallway quickly, checking doors on either side. Unfortunately, every lab door was either burned or locked, so he couldn't get into any of them. He looked around the place one more time, then took off down a hallway. He found another hallway full of doors, and began checking them. Locked. No luck. Go away. No jinchuriki allowed. No soliciting. Open says me does not compute. He was about to give up before he reached the last normal door, which was across from some old wooden closet door or something. But something told him to try it. Hesitantly, he tried the knob, and was delighted to feel it turn smoothly.

"Finally!" he said with a grin. "Now I can figure out what this place is all about." He jerked the door open and looked inside eagerly. It was a lab, just like the rest of them. Unlike the others, though, it wasn't burning. He looked up at the ceiling in curiosity, and saw that the piping leading from the opposite wall was ruptured. A small flame escaped from the hole in the pipe, obviously not how it was supposed to be. Apparently, lazy maintenance had saved this lab from a fiery death, and Naruto intended to make the most of it.

Unknown to our retarded genin, a certain crippled old man was passing through the hallway. Danzou saw the open door to the lab, and merely assumed that the clean up crew was igniting the room. He remembered getting a complaint that Lab 5-9-2 wouldn't light in an emergency. His retort had been, "What are the odds of us being found out and having to destroy _every_ laboratory? Get out of my sight and come back when you have a real concern." Now that he thought about it, the irony here was perfectly clear, but he didn't dwell on it. As he passed the open door, however, it swung open unexpectedly, and bumped him into the wooden door next to him. He braced himself with his hand, and turned in annoyance back toward the door.

Naruto turned when he heard a thump, and jerked the door closed immediately. He ducked under the window in fear, not sure how friendly the people around here would be. _Especially if I got in by following an ANBU platoon armed to the teeth._ He added mentally. He waited, but no one opened the door.

Outside, Danzou pondered on the merits of executing the clueless person that had just bumped him. He hadn't killed anyone for less, so this would have probably raised his standard of killing. Still, the secret ROOT leader shook his head and continued. With an assault on his fortress, disciplinary actions could wait. "Damn interns." He muttered under his breath. He walked on, never noticing that his wooden door, which only opened to his touch, was standing slightly ajar.

Naruto watched the weird old cripple leave, then opened the door slowly. As he did, he noticed that the wooden door was open this time. Lab forgotten, Naruto dashed toward the old door and jumped inside, closing it behind him. After all, old doors lead to old stuff, and treasure is a lot cooler than science projects, anyway.

As the old door thudded shut behind him, Naruto squinted into the dark room. In a few seconds, his eyes became adjusted to the darkness, and his eyes widened when he saw what the room held. He walked forward slowly, his gaze transfixed on the candle-lit circle on the floor. Lying there, looking just as she had when he had spoken to her earlier that day, was Kamikirimusi. Or, at least, her body. The Kamikirimusi before him was asleep, apparently in a coma. Surrounding her, in white paint, was a large and complex seal that he couldn't even hope to trace. He ran forward and knelt next to Kamikirimusi's body, unsure what to do. His mind was doing cartwheels as his eyes ran over her form. _She's in my head, yet she's right here. I heard Brutus' story, but still... this is so weird._ He thought as he patted Kiri's face firmly. The woman did not stir, and he rolled his eyes. Of course, he would have to carry her out. How else would the universe make this a hassle for him. He formed the familiar cross symbol, and three shadow clones appeared in three separate puffs of smoke. They all nodded to each other, then turned to look at the woman next to them. When they did, a certain part of the woman held their attention.

_**IF YOU DON'T STOP OGLING MY CHEST, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER SLEEP AGAIN, YOU LITTLE SHIT!**_ All four Narutos cringed as the indignant feminine fury washed over all of them. Apparently, Kiri could get her point across if she was angry enough, even inside the seal. With that settled, one clone grabbed Kiri under her arms, and the other two got her legs and back. The positioning was awkward, and two of the clones were blushing furiously, but it would do the trick for now.

"All right, you guys, let's get out of here!" The real Naruto said and pointed toward the door. A chorus of 'Right!' answered him, and they charged out of the room. The door slammed behind them and locked once more. Danzou would never know that his experiment was gone until they reclaimed the base weeks later.

* * *

Itachi waved the men behind him on, and dashed silently down the catwalk. They followed just as quietly, worming their way deeper into the compound. Itachi glanced down below him into the large buffer chamber below, designed to catch and disperse shock in case of an earthquake. Below them, two guards stood on either side of a doorway, speaking casually. By their body language and tone, they were at ease. That meant that Itachi's group hadn't been found out yet.

_That's the crucial part,_ the Uchiha thought. _As soon as the alarm is raised, it will be much harder to wipe them out._ Still, their primary objective was the same: bring Danzou's head to the Hokage, attached or not. He jumped onto the wall above the guards, and the others followed silently. As he slowly approached the ROOT operatives, he realized that the Hokage would probably want his old rival dead. If it were up to him, that was what Itachi would do. Leaving Danzou alive would be like leaving a wound to fester.

He descended until he was right above the left guard, and that was when he attacked. To be fair, the man never knew what hit him. Right when the Uchiha reached him, the man looked up on a whim. Itachi dove down and grabbed the man's head, legs up in the air in a handstand. With a grunt of effort, Itachi twisted his body, snapping the man's neck in the process. He fell in a heap, and Itachi landed on top of him. The man's companion turned and gasped in alarm. The gasp delayed him for the second that was needed for Kakashi to come down and stab a kunai into the back of his head. Itachi got up off of the guard and picked up his body. Kakashi mirrored him, and the two stashed the bodies in a corner. When they returned, the other ANBU were waiting. They ventured into the doorway that the men had been guarding so lazily. Kakashi ran up so that he was level with Itachi.

"We haven't been spotted yet, but what's the plan? I don't think this will be as straight-forward as our other encounters." He said neutrally. Itachi didn't reply, but rather picked up speed. Kakashi thought he was just being distant, but the truth was that the invincible Itachi Uchiha didn't have a plan. There were too many variables (area layout, guard shifts, traps, etc.) for him to make a durable plan. The idea now was to test the enemy's defenses in a discreet manner, and move on from there. _Hopefully, the Red Death will attract their attention._ Itachi thought as they took a right at a fork in the hallway. If there was one thing Brutus the Immortal was known for, it was causing a scene. If there were any ROOT operatives near his location, they would go running to him, leaving the area clear for Itachi's group.

They came to a closed balcony that overlooked what seemed to be a large training ground/ interrogation area. The balcony looked down over the target practice field, where posts were set up to be targets. Chains attached to the wooden rings allowed for prisoners to be targets as they were being interrogated. If they answer wrong, they wouldn't have much room to dodge. It was an effective technique, to be sure, but one that Sarutobi would never sanction. The training area was far from empty, too, as it seemed that roughly half of the ROOT forces were brushing up on their skills. Four groups of men, numbered at about thirty each, were clustered in several portions of the training area. One group was sparring, while another was going through calisthenics. If it weren't for the things ROOT had been caught doing before, the camaraderie here would have made Itachi think twice about what he was about to do. As it was, he was perfectly fine with scanning every one of them for the quickest way to kill them. _Besides, they're basically traitors. They deserve little mercy. _Itachi reasoned. He had done the whole traitor thing before, and was especially known for wiping out the Uchiha clan alongside his brother. It pained him to do it, and he would lose sleep for a night or two, a week tops. But then the memories would fade into neutral recollection, like all the others.

Just as he raised his arm to give the attack order, though, something unexpected happened. The group closest to the corridor that led away from the training chamber turned and looked into the corridor. Itachi paused, waiting to see what was so important for the unshakable ROOT to stop their routine. There was a strange swishing sound, then they scattered. And out of the corridor, a giant sword spun through the air, cleaving an unlucky ROOT in two. It continued on until it embedded itself into the rock wall, leaving the man to grasp at his entrails as he dragged himself across the floor. A clanking noise came from the corridor, and Brutus emerged, clearly in a bad mood. The rest of the ROOT operatives turned toward the armored swordsman, unsure about what to do. Deciding to go with the direct approach, two ANBU close to Brutus ran toward him, unarmed. The armored man spread his feet and raised his hands out to his sides, almost like a wrestler. The first man to reach him tried a right haymaker, but Brutus leaned back. The man tried to right himself and threw a kick toward the swordsman's knees. Brutus let the blow hit, and his paladin armor stopped the kick on contact. Stunned, the ROOT wasn't prepared for Brutus to grab him by the foot. Brutus swung the man in an arc, slamming his face into the ground. The man's mask fractured, but still remained on his face. Brutus then dragged the man toward him by the leg and placed his foot on the back of his head. With a mighty press, the swordsman dislodged the man's head from his neck.

Brutus dropped the body just as the second man got to him. He blocked a left hook and several jabs, then sidestepped a kick and grabbed the man by the throat. The ROOT struggled in his grip, but to no avail. With a feral snarl, the ancient swordsman delivered a hard uppercut to the man's jaw, sending up into the air about four feet. It was enough for Brutus to grab his ankle and twist it under his arm. Brutus brought the man down hard, damaging his already fractured jaw. He dropped the man's foot and jumped onto his back with a sickening crunch. The man cried out in pain, and several of his colleagues unconsciously took a step back at the brutality. Brutus turned toward the rest of the ROOT, the frown on his face. When no one moved, he took up his stance once more.

"Come on, you little cretins. I've still got plenty of whoop-ass to spread around." He challenged, his dark eyes boring into their blank masks. Several of the ROOT operatives looked at each other, and roughly ten of them ran forward. Just as they were about to reach him, however, a fireball engulfed them all, four meters from Brutus. The swordsman shielded his face from the immense heat, and glanced up to see Itachi's ANBU squad leaping down from the catwalk. The ROOT once again were taken by surprise, and several were felled by kunai before the rest scattered. The ANBU landed right in the middle, and broke formation to engage individual targets.

Even though they had the element of surprise, Itachi's platoon of ANBU were outnumbered eight to one, figures that rarely boded well for the one in the shinobi world. Even so, it seemed that the ANBU black ops members were more skilled than the ROOT operatives. Even so, they were still at a disadvantage. The training ground quickly degenerated into the chaotic frenzy of a battle ground, and Brutus lost sight of his allies in the crowd of masked men fighting to kill each other. He dashed forward, toward where Buster was still stuck in the wall. As he ran, several ROOT men followed behind him. Sensing his pursuers, Brutus dove forward and rolled into the wall, feet up against the rock. As if he were pulling the sword from the stone, (which he kinda was) Brutus ripped the sword free and kicked off of the wall at the same time. This nimble feet caught his four foes by surprise, and he used the momentum to slice through two of them and wound a third. The two dead ROOT fell at his feet, and the third had several spikes lodged in his gut as Brutus rolled to an upright position. Buster was angled over his head, the spiky side imbedded in the third ROOT member's thoracic cavity (torso). The fourth dashed forward with a kunai, and Brutus slipped behind the wounded man and drew Buster from his wounds. Sword in hand, he kicked the wounded man toward his colleague, and was mildly surprised to see the last able-bodied man of the squad cut down his comrade with a single diagonal stroke across the man's jugular.

_This is why Sarutobi wants to be rid of them,_ Brutus realized as he brought Buster up to block the man's kunai slash. The knife skidded across the smooth metal without leaving a scratch, and Brutus brought the blade around his back and sidestepped the stab that followed his parry. _They are nothing but mindless tools. No proper warrior would kill his own just because they were in the way._ Brutus turned so that his back and his sword faced the ROOT just as the blade sliced toward him again. The kunai bounced off once more, and Brutus turned to allow a kick. The ROOT blocked the kick with his shin, but the force of the blow sent him skidding back a couple of meters, allowing Brutus to bring his sword to bear. He took his usual stance, left hand forward with Buster in his right hand behind him. The ROOT cocked his head in puzzlement, but did not speak. He dashed toward Brutus once more, and the skilled swordsman ducked under another kunai slash and dodged around six more. He switched his grip on his sword and sidestepped a wayward stab, then drove the pommel into the man's gut. The operative grunted in pain and bent over the sword. Brutus grabbed him by his long tan hair and hurled him into the air several meters. When the man came back down, Brutus reversed his sword so that the sharp blade would break his fall. He slashed upward to meet the helpless man, and cut him in half vertically. The ROOT fell to the ground in two symmetrical pieces, both halves of his mask still covering his face.

Brutus had no time to celebrate his victory as a giant fireball passed over him, blasting him with heat and singing his hair. It slammed into the rock wall with a loud boom, and the chamber shook as the power was dispersed through the wall. He turned toward where it had originated just in time to see an ANBU killed by three ROOT, his entrails scattered across the floor after being disemboweled. Brutus ran and drove his large sword forward in a stab, one that caught two of the ROOT off guard. He skewered them both through the chest, their bodies connected by the massive sword that pierced them. He turned the blade and sliced it from their bodies, sending them toppling over into the already growing pool of blood coming from the ANBU. The third ROOT turned to face Brutus, and revealed his weapons: twin wakizashis. The light, durable swords were perfect for akimbo wielding, and the ROOT held them in a master's grip. His armor was not that of an ANBU, but rather a samurai: his sandals were replaced by traditional tabi, and he wore shoulder pauldrons and the chest piece of a red material, obviously light, but undoubtedly strong.

"You're probably a big shot around here, aren't you?" Brutus said rhetorically as he took up his stance once more. The man did not reply, but instead took of his own stance, standing sidelong with one blade in front of him and the other over his head. They squared off for a second, then rushed forward in a clash of metal that sent spark flying.

* * *

Kakashi had to admit, ROOT definitely had a good recruitment drive. He had downed ten or fifteen of their operatives, and he had yet to see one turn tail and run. That fact alone impressed him, but it did nothing to change their fates. All who approached the son of the White Fang died. No exceptions. He kicked an injured ROOT in the face, sending him into another. The second operative sidestepped his colleague and charged Kakashi, but the silver-haired man was too quick for him. Kakashi roundhouse kicked him in the chin, sending him sprawling into his downed comrade. To finish them both off, Kakashi threw a kunai with an explosive note attached to it, watching with some amusement as it imbedded itself into the second ROOT's left ass cheek. The man's yelp of pain was quickly drowned out by the explosion, and Kakashi turned to prevent the blood and pieces from getting in his eye. Even so, a good amount of the viscous fluid splashed onto his shoulder and side, and he looked down in distaste. _We ANBU always have the worst dry cleaning bills..._ he thought lazily as he flicked a piece of meat from his shoulder.

With so many ROOT here, he couldn't fathom how they had kept this operation running for so long. As he looked back at the growing number of corpses littering the ground, it was easy to tell that these men weren't all that skilled. Sure, they had managed to take down three ANBU, but only because it had taken about twenty each for each fallen ANBU. In contrast, the fifteen ANBU (well, twelve now) had easily killed a whole group of ROOT, a full thirty members. He knew it was wrong to think in numbers, but the ANBU were far better than the ROOT. Still, with no cowards among the ROOT, the best they could hope for was to demolish the ROOT and capture the last five or six. He ducked under an overeager swipe and sent a fist into the operative's gut. The man wheezed as his breath was forced from his lungs, and Kakashi followed up with an uppercut to the chin and a side kick to the chest, sending the defeated ROOT flying through the flurry of motion that was the rest of the battle. Kakashi watched the man skid across the stone floor and come to a stop next to the corridor. He stirred, but did not get back up. Kakashi noted his location for later, when there were no more ROOT standing. _That way, if it boils down to a war of attrition, we'll have a few to rely on._ He thought. An ANBU staggered into his direct field of view, struggling against two ROOT members. He had a kunai blocking each, but his arms were weakening as the ROOT put their combined weight into his guard.

Kakashi slid up next to the closest ROOT and drove a hard kick into the side of his knee, dislocating it with a sickening crunch. The man howled in anguish and tilted, as if he were going to fall. Quick as a flash, Kakashi reached around the man's head and grabbed his chin, then twisted the operative's head roughly and snapped his neck. He released the dead man and turned to the ANBU and his remaining opponent. With his left arm free, the ANBU stabbed his second kunai into the other ROOT's side, piercing a lung. The man grunted in pain and backpedaled, holding his bleeding side with one hand. With a nod of appreciation to Kakashi, the ANBU dove forward and attacked the retreating ROOT with renewed vigor.

Kakashi turned in a slow circle, and watched with horrified amazement as a pair of ANBU soaked a group of fifteen ROOT, then shocked them to death with a low-level lightning jutsu. He looked over toward the corridor, and was surprised to see Itachi fighting three ROOT captains unarmed. He knew they were captains by the red streaks going across the temples of their masks, along with their custom-made katana. _Well, three on one just isn't fair now, is it?_ He ran into the fight, just in time to save Itachi from a debilitating slash across the torso. He caught the ROOT captain's arm, and drove his elbow down into it. The arm bent at an unnatural angle with a crack, and the captain grunted in suppressed pain. Not finished, Kakashi pulled the man toward him by his wounded arm and sent a bone shattering punch into the man's face. The captain flew back in the air a meter or so before he skidded across the ground, tripping up a ROOT operative that was struggling to remove an explosive tag. The tag went off just as the captain passed under his subordinate's feet, splattering them both all over the immediate area.

Itachi blocked the captain's katana with his tanto, and spun to deliver a hard kick toward the man's face. The captain brought his hand up and stepped to the side, diverting the force of the blow with his hand as he caught Itachi's foot. The Uchiha cocked his head, then drove his tanto into the man's weakened guard. The captain let go of his foot and re-gripped his blade, and stopped Itachi's tanto once more. He batted the smaller sword away and slashed toward the Uchiha's chest. Itachi blocked the blade with his armored gauntlet, and swatted the katana down with his tanto. Left with an opening, he stepped onto the blunt edge of the blade and back-flipped, driving the blade into the ground and kicking the captain in the chin. The man was forced to release his katana and staggered back. Itachi landed and pressed his attack, slashing at the man with deadly accuracy. The captain blocked several hits with his forearm guards, but he couldn't defend himself without his sword. _Foolish, _Itachi thought as he left a nasty gash on the man's bicep, _a shinobi should never rely on a blade._ He swept his foot around to behind the captain's own, tripping the man. He fell forward with the ROOT and drove his tanto into the man's chest. That done, he turned to see Kakashi engaging the last captain, kunai shaking as he struggled against the man's weight. Itachi sent a small amount of chakra to his eyes, and his Sharingan activated.

Kakashi pressed into the blade even more, but he had to be cautious. If he put too much pressure on the kunai, it would be cut in half by the sharper katana. He tried to think of a plan, only to see a fist impact into the side of the katana. The unexpected force sent the katana off to the right, surprising its owner. Kakashi's kunai continued forward with the unexpected loss of resistance, but he brought it back just as Itachi passed between the two warriors, upside down in the middle of a flip. His tanto flashed, and the captain's head fell to the ground, his body following soon after. Itachi landed in a crouch, then turned to Kakashi. Now that they were in a corner, they had time to strategize.

"I take it your fight got too boring." Itachi said with a smirk, flicking his wrist and ridding his blade of the blood that ran along its edge. Kakashi shrugged and twirled his kunai by the ring.

"They may have numbers, but I've fought chuunin with more experience. Something tells me these aren't the regulars, besides the captains." Kakashi said as he watched the crowd in the center of the training chamber thin to near even numbers: ten ANBU and fourteen ROOT by his count. On the other side, near the practice stumps, Brutus was exchanging blows with a slightly smaller, but still large, ROOT with twin wakizashis. Itachi followed his gaze and caught sight of Brutus' battle as well.

"He seems much more skilled than we had first thought," the Uchiha commented as he saw Brutus spin and block a double swipe by placing Buster against his back, before spinning with a flourish and slashing in return. Kakashi nodded, and looked back at the others. The ANBU had suffered no further casualties, and five ROOT were trussed up and tied by their hands and feet, suppression seals on their foreheads to restrain their chakra. The rest of the ROOT were either dead or injured, and the mass of bloodstained bodies made it difficult to differentiate between dead and not. With ROOT otherwise defeated, all of the ANBU turned to watch Brutus' duel.

* * *

Brutus could feel the sweat pouring down his face as he parried another overhead blow. Whoever this man was, he knew his swords. Even now, the ROOT had reversed his grip on the wakizashi in his left hand, opening himself up to a whole new arsenal of strikes and styles. Brutus hadn't fought someone so proficient with dual swords since Sairubi. _But Sai is better than this child could ever DREAM of being,_ Brutus said dismissively as he knocked aside a halfhearted downward slash. Another thing Sairubi had on the guy was stamina: even now, Brutus could see the energy ebbing from the man's posture, his attacks, and his blocks. Brutus, however, was just a bit winded.

"It's time to end this, boy. You can't win." Brutus said with an air of finality. The ROOT stiffened, and his head turned slightly as he surveyed the battlefield behind him. His shoulders fell slightly, but enough for Brutus to see it. Yes, he knew he was finished. The ROOT turned back to face Brutus, and he moved his hand up to his mask. Brutus did not attack, and allowed his foe to reveal himself. The blank mask came away, and the man's face was revealed. He had the face of a warrior: dark, steely eyes, pointed nose, strong jaw, thin lips. His brown hair spiked all over the place, like an overgrown fern. A few wrinkles sat on his forehead, scars of time left by too many years of hardship. The man frowned and threw his mask to the ground, shattering it.

"I may be surrounded, and I probably won't leave here alive," Even the man's voice was grizzled and rough, like it was being pulled over gravel. "but that is no reason to give up a fight." Resolute martyrdom was clear on his features; he knew he would die here. But Brutus couldn't help but admire him. In the end, the man wanted to go down fighting. Brutus would do the same in his situation every time.

"As you wish," Brutus said resignedly. The two took up their stances, and the gathered ANBU stepped back to allow for room. It was no longer about life or death; it had become much more than that. The fight had boiled down into a battle of honor. The ROOT would gladly have taken his own life, but he obviously wanted to have one last fight before the Shinigami took him. Brutus was only too happy to oblige him.

Brutus moved first, bring Buster around in a horizontal slash. The man blocked the slash by digging his feet into the ground and leaning into his right wakizashi, which took the brunt of the blow. A small crack appeared at the point of impact. The man grunted with strain, but then brought his left wakizashi down and stabbed into the ground, just in front of Brutus' fingers and behind his guard. Brutus tried to pull his sword back, but the small blade held fast. The ROOT pushed Buster down into the ground and slid forward, swinging his wakizashi in a downward arc. Brutus cursed and released Buster, backpedaling as he struggled to dodge the wide slashes. He ducked under an overhead swipe and charged into the ROOT's body in a body slam, wrapping his large arms around the man's back. The operative struggled against his grip, but couldn't free himself. He brought his wakizashi around and tried to stab down into Brutus' back, but the ancient paladin's armor was too strong. With a mighty heave of his shoulders, Brutus picked the man up and fell back into what can only be described as a suplex. The ROOT bit back a cry of pain, and his sword fell from his grip. Brutus rolled back toward Buster and pulled it from the ground, snapping the wakizashi holding it in the process. The ROOT clambered back to his feet and grabbed his sword just in time to block a downward slash from Brutus. He held a hand under the blade to use his full strength, but even then Brutus slowly pushed him down. The man sank to a crouch, then drove the sword sideways and away from him. Brutus let the sword drive into the ground and sent a vicious kick into the side of the man's head, stunning him. He picked Buster up just as the ROOT stumbled back, and swatted his feeble defense away like a fly. The wakizashi broke at the fracture, leaving the operative with a broken sword.

The ROOT looked down at his broken weapon, then realized that he was defeated. With a weary sigh, he sank to his knees in submission. Brutus brought Buster about and gripped the blade behind him. He looked into the ROOT's eyes, and saw nothing but sad contentment. _This is how he always pictured himself going out,_ Brutus thought with a pang of pity. _And it would be cruel to deny him his fate._ Buster all of a sudden felt heavy in his hands, and his strength sagged momentarily. Here was a fellow swordsman, obviously skilled and a great fighter. He had just come up against the wrong foe. Brutus' expression softened into one of understanding, and he decided to offer the ROOT one last comfort before he struck him down.

"What is your name, son?" He asked reverently. The ROOT blinked and looked to the side, a look of nostalgia on his face. He seemed to be recalling his life, before ROOT perhaps, or some other distant memory. Brutus waited patiently as the man prepared himself. The operative looked him in the eye once more, and said steadily, "Ryu. Ryu Higurashi." Brutus nodded and hefted his blade.

"You will be remembered, Ryu Higurashi. Now be at peace." He said quietly. And with that, he swung. The blade sliced neatly through Ryu's neck, ending his life in a moment of painlessness. His head fell to the ground next to the broken tip of his blade, and his body slumped next to it.

Brutus frowned and wiped his blade on the clothes of a dead ROOT, then slung Buster onto his back once more. The ANBU said nothing, and he turned to face Kakashi and Itachi, who both gave him a level nod of respect.

"Come," he said resolutely. "they have most likely begun destroying the evidence. We must hurry." Kakashi and Itachi said nothing, and turned to face the corridor. With that, the squad moved deeper into the complex, leaving a few captured ROOT and a great many dead in their wake.

* * *

Sarutobi watched the squad enter the corridor, then turned away from his scrying orb. He sighed heavily, and turned to look out at the monument, where the battle was still taking place. He puffed on his pipe and stared at the visage of his successor, wondering what in the world he had done wrong. _It's seems that when you were running things, Minato, everything was fine._ He thought grimly, and cast his eyes downward toward the bustling people of the village. _You kept them out of harm's way and protected both their bodies and their souls. And I can no longer follow in your footsteps._ Sarutobi inhaled the tobacco smoke, savored it, then released it in a slow, long stream. He knew he was doing the best that he could. But there were only so many things an old man could do. It was times like these that Sarutobi wished that he had taken the Yondaime's place that fateful night so many years ago. But fate had run its course, and he found himself wearing the heat he thought he would never wear again.

He looked down at the village square, where several shinobi were lounging around on their off days. He could always look down on his village and see the signs of peace, of prosperity. _And that, I think, is the difference between myself and the other kage._ He thought, and a swell of pride entered his chest. Still, he had responsibilities to the people, and he set his pipe down and drew out a blank scroll. He inked his brush and began composing a letter he should have sent years ago. In it, he included all the facts that a daughter needed to here about her father's last stand, and only provided a vague explanation of the circumstances. Still, the poor girl had lost her father so long ago, and had never learned what had happened to him. As he wrote, he knew that this was what was needed; the young kunoichi needed closure more than anything else. He wrote for several minutes, carefully wording his sentences so that the young girl wouldn't get the wrong ideas about her father's disappearance. _And yet, __here I find myself lying to protect another child from the cold, bitter truth,_ Sarutobi thought with a sigh. He finished several minutes later, and stood up. He rolled the scroll up and walked over to the window, where his personal messenger hawk sat waiting. The bird was an odd mixture of red and brown, and was almost as ancient as the Hokage himself. He looked down at the scroll, then handed it to the hawk, who grabbed it with a light squawk and looked at him. He tied an address to its leg, then sent it flying toward the center of the village, where the post office was. When the post master took the scroll and address from the hawk several minutes later, he looked down at the name in curiosity. Still, it came from the Hokage, so he passed the address and scroll to a genin and sent him on his way. _You must be important,_ the postmaster thought, _to get a letter from the Hokage, Tenten Higurashi._

* * *

Ok, that should do for now. I wanted to include some moral conflict, so that everyone sees that I'm not engineering a place of sunshine and lollipops here. As for the last name, I have no idea what it means, I just thought it up. Don't forget to review.


	14. Babes, Bombs, and Blades

Danzou is going to be so pissed when he find's out his prized captive has been repossessed by a moron. I like the way I'm building this story, but my crossover with FMA is a little too addicting. It also gets more reviews, so pardon me if I put more effort into the more rewarding story. Also, I've added Mortal Kombat to my repertoire of violent and brutal inspirations. Nasty stuff. **End of All Hope** by _Nightwish._

* * *

**Chapter 14: Babes, Bombs, and Blades**

Danzou tapped three times on the metal door, and it swung open silently, allowing him passage into the next chamber. As he slowly marched into the inner sanctum, another shudder rocked the base. Danzou looked up, but worry did not cross his face. He knew his troops would fight to the end, and that he would have more than enough time to grab their most secret projects and escape. The only pity was that it would take forever before he could recruit more competent shinobi. No remorse came to the scarred man as his subordinates bravely fought and died above him. He reached the inner sanctum, and paused to take in the spectacle.

The artisans within ROOT had always possessed a sense of theater. The room was circular, roughly the size of the Hokage's office. However, the walls were intricately carved with symbols and writings. The craftsmen had labored for weeks, carving images of the Soul Edge and the Soul Calibur, deadlocked in combat in the hands of two unknown foes. Around each scene was a brief description, along with a date. The detail of the carvings were so precise, that the Soul Calibur's owner had been etched in one strand of hair at a time. In the center of the room was a simple stone pedestal, made of the same material as the mountain that surrounded the ROOT base. Hovering above said pedestal by its own power, however, was the true masterpiece of the room: Soul Edge.

The very air thrummed with power as the sword floated above its shrine. The blade was a dull gray, but as it reached the handle it looked as if a parasite had overgrown the metal. Red, organic matter covered the higher portion of the sword, and a large eye, currently closed, sat in the middle of the mess. A basic steel handle and ordinary pommel completed the image, but the wonders didn't stop there. Danzou cleared his throat, and the eye snapped open, revealing a yellow iris and a slit pupil. The air became heavy with malice, and Danzou could sense something stirring within the sword.

**"Danzou Shimura."** A deep, demonic voice said, power in every syllable. **"Why have you disturbed my slumber? Has the Soul Calibur been found?"** By the sound of its tone, the spirit of the sword did not seem to tolerate otherwise. It would have to, however.

"I'm afraid not, my lord." Danzou said, submission clear in his voice. "It seems our base has been compromised. We'll have to move you to a safer location." Danzou could almost taste the displeasure exuding from the blade, and the eye narrowed.

**"Your incompetence is most displeasing. You assured me that you would bring me the Soul Calibur."** The sword spat. Danzou swallowed audibly. He had to place the part of the fearful subordinate. In reality, the sword held no true power over anyone not touching it. However, playing the cowering servant got a lot more information than the indomitable interrogator, and he had gotten so much knowledge from this blade. So, he pursued his ruse.

"My lord, the attacking forces have Brutus of the Red Death with them. Surely he would-" Danzou was cut off by a blast of fury from the sword.

**"BRUTUS! That impudent, ungrateful BASTARD is here?" **The sword raged. As if responding to the blade's wrath, the room's lights dimmed. Danzou listened as more explosions rocked the room. He was running out of time.

"If he gets here, he will surely attempt to destroy you! He knows your power!" Danzou said insistently. He took a step forward, and the eye opened wide one more.

**"Perhaps you are correct, Danzou Shimura. Very well. Extract me from this place, and take me somewhere safe. Then, you may continue the hunt for the Soul Calibur."** The sword said imperiously. Danzou wanted to vomit at the haughty dismissal. The sword believed it was God's gift to the earth, it seemed, and that kind of foolish pride was the downfall of any tyrant. Danzou hesitantly picked up the sword, and was astounded to find it was light as a feather. As he marveled at its weightlessness, the sword rumbled once more.

**"You are a broken vessel, Danzou Shimura. Any who would ferry me anywhere must represent me. I will have no weakness in my image."** The sword said. Danzou got a very bad feeling at this, and he watched in horror as the organic matter around the eye began squirming and writhing. Startled, he tried to drop the sword, but his hands would not obey him. With an almost alien screech, the organic matter jumped onto Danzou's chest, and began encasing his body, spreading like a virus. The pain was immeasurable, and Danzou yelled at the agony. His crippled arm began changing, tendrils popping and rupturing from his skin as the Soul Edge performed its gruesome transformation. As the organic matter delved into Danzou's body, it reached his chakra network. In reflex, Danzou expelled an enormous amount of chakra, shattering every light in the room. Darkness fell, but the squishing noises persisted, until all was silent. Then, slow, maniacal laughter began to fill the chamber, and the yellow eye of the Soul Edge opened in the absolute darkness.

* * *

Brutus hated reinforcements. It just wasn't fair to fight your hardest and cut down every opponent, wearing yourself down as you did, only to fight fully rested troops about a minute later. It was like drinking a river. A river full of deadly eels and piranhas.

With a growl, he slashed Buster horizontally, cleaving three ROOT operatives in half. They fell to the ground shrieking in agony, and their legs dropped as well, twitching and writhing. Brutus panted, then picked up the nearest ROOT by the throat. The man gurgled as all of his organs fell out of his chest, and Brutus harvested the man's soul in the form of a blue mist running from the ROOT's head into Brutus' chest. The soul's power was diminished, but it served to rejuvenate Brutus a bit. Dropping the useless corpse, he turned to survey the rest of the battle.

The newly arrived ROOT weren't as numerous as the recruits they had slaughter in the last chapter (fourth wall!). However, twenty-five fresh, well trained ROOT against twelve exhausted ANBU and a swordsman were still tough odds. It would have been fifty ROOT, but Itachi had planted a nice little paper bomb on a pouch of shuriken near the entrance, and it had (literally) cut the enemy in half, spraying kunai, shuriken, and even a razor-sharp chain into the ROOT operatives as they had entered the training area. Another ROOT tried to get the drop on him, coming up from behind Brutus as he contemplated. The operative slashed at Brutus' unprotected side with a kunai, hoping to take advantage of his distraction. The swordsman felt the blade cut across his armor, and turned toward the unfortunate ROOT, eyes hard and cold. The man tried to stab Brutus in the jugular, but to do that would require a kunai. And an arm. Both of which were lying on the ground next to the man, due to Buster's sharp side. The ROOT looked at his bloody stump in horrid silence, and then Brutus delivered a vicious downward punch that floored the ROOT. Brutus grabbed the man's remaining arm and picked him up off of the ground slightly, then brought his boot down on his head, shattering it and coating thee. ground underneath the operative in blood , brain matter, and cerebral spinal fluid. Brutus spat down on the corpse. He heard a great deal of commotion on the other side of the battlefield, and turned towards it.

Brutus ran forward, slinging Buster onto his back as he sprinted, and took out an unsuspecting ROOT with a lariat, catching the man's head in the crook of his elbow and slamming him into the ground. The ROOT was knocked out cold, and Brutus kept sprinting. He spotted Kakashi in a tight spot, surrounded by three ROOT and two captains. Brutus took advantage of his momentum and slid his feet forward, falling onto Buster and sliding with his feet out. He had picked up so much speed that when he impacted on the captain's legs, the man's kneecaps shattered and were reversed with a gruesome crack. The captain screamed in pain and fell, causing Kakashi and his opponents to stop and look. Brutus continued forward, then rolled over onto his chest. Without the smooth surface of Buster to slide across the ground, he slowed quickly and stood up. The remaining captain turned to face him, while the other three ROOT kept attacking Kakashi. Without the captains helping them, though, Kakashi could deal with them relatively easily.

Brutus brought Buster down into his stance, sword behind him and legs spread wide. The captain raised his katana above his head, ready to slash downward at any moment. While it was good to be ready, telegraphing such an obvious move was unbecoming of a sneaky shinobi. Suspicious, Brutus swung low, toward the captain's waist. Surprisingly, the ROOT twisted his blade and stabbed downward, directly in the path of Brutus' slash. The man probably looked smug under his mask. The thought irritated Brutus. With a twist of his wrist, Buster was flipped around to the spiky side, and he trapped the katana in the prongs. The captain blanched in alarm, and looked up at Brutus only to catch a powerful punch right in the face. The strength behind the blow made the man's mask shatter, and shoved the shards of broken mask into his face. The captain shrieked in pain and dropped his katana, bringing his hands up to his ruined face. Brutus didn't give him time to fully appreciate the situation, stabbing the man through the chest. The man's screams quieted to choked gargles, and his arms went limp. Brutus let his body slump to the ground, then pried Buster from his chest.

Kakashi let a sloppy tanto swipe go past his ear, then drove a kunai into the ROOT's leg. The man yelled as blood spurted everywhere. Kakashi took advantage of his distraction (read: agony) and took the man's tanto from his weakened grip. The man's pained gasps were cut off by a slit jugular, and he toppled to the ground. The other two ROOT attacked in unison, one swiping high while the other cut low. Kakashi sighed and dove forward, in between the blades. The surprised ROOT operatives ended up beheading and disemboweling each other. Brutus clapped his hands and whistled, while Kakashi gave a slight bow.

A clash of metal on metal brought the two back to their current situation, and Brutus looked around. The number had thinned to a harrowing eight ANBU to fifteen ROOT, and Itachi was nowhere to be seen. Kakashi seemed to notice this as well, and the two moved into the chaos of the battle, searching for the third commander.

Itachi was decently pissed off. In fighting eight operatives, four of them captains, one of the little traitors had cut off his ponytail. While looks weren't required for a healthy shinobi lifestyle, Itachi always did appreciate the fainting ladies at every corner. Another lucky swipe had removed his mask. Itachi stood backed in a corner, panting heavily as the remaining captain and his four subordinates stalked forward. _Enough of this child's play,_ Itachi thought darkly. He closed his eyes and focused, and when he reopened them again, the ROOT were horrified to see the shuriken shaped iris of the Mangekyo Sharingan. They stopped their advance, frozen as they awaited judgment from the most powerful Uchiha alive. Itachi smirked, then uttered one word, "Amaterasu."

Black flames appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and the ROOT operatives were enveloped in the hellish inferno. They shrieked in agony, rolling on the ground and beating the flames in a futile attempt to extinguish them. Itachi watched as, one by one, the ROOT stopped moving, then disposed of the black flames. He blinked as the Mangekyo faded, returned to his normal onyx eyes. With the resulting lull, he reached into his pouch and fished out a pill Tsunade had given him. He popped it into his mouth and swallowed, and smirked again. Thanks to Tsunade's interference, the Mangekyo's debilitating migraines and weakening eyesight had been reduced to a slight hangover. Still, he was hesitant to use it often.

Brutus and Kakashi found Itachi with little trouble. Black flames were a bit of a rarity, and seeing it covering five bodies was an easy way to find the ANBU captain. Itachi was the only person known to use Amaterasu, so its use telegraphed his location quite nicely. Once again, Naruto's actions in Snow flashed back to him, but Kakashi shook his head. There was no time to think about that now. Kakashi eyed Itachi with mild concern, but the Uchiha waved him off. Brutus looked back at the fight, and just barely got out of the way of a huge windmill shuriken. Said projectile lodged itself into the wall next to Itachi, inches from his cheek. He didn't move, knowing full well it wasn't going to hit him. Kakashi sweatdropped at his showmanship.

Brutus growled in irritation and swung Buster around to his front. Kakashi backed up out of his way, and Brutus spun in a complete circle. As he came around again, he caught sight of his target: a cluster of ROOT shinobi, standing over the fallen bodies of two ANBU and throwing projectiles at the surviving ANBU. Their harassment had to end, and Brutus had the five-hundred pound solution. With one last heave, he hurled Buster, sending the blade spinning toward the ROOT operatives at high speed. None of them saw it coming. The blade's momentum and sharpness cut through them like butter, spraying blood and organs everywhere. Their legs fell in a heap onto the ANBU they'd been so proud to slay, their upper bodies hitting the ground a second later. Surprisingly, they were silent; the shock to their systems had rendered them mute and stiff. Blood loss would kill them in minutes.

The blade continued through them, knocking a katana from the hands of a ROOT captain before he was decapitated by Bear. Buster lost momentum after so much carnage and glided to the ground, still spinning at a reduced speed. It finally came to a rest, lodging itself into the calves of an unfortunate ROOT operative. The man screamed and fell to the ground, clawing at the massive blade that had severed his muscles.

Itachi watched the sword's path with a raised eyebrow, and it was Kakashi's turn to whistle. With the numbers at ten vs ten, the battle was almost over. Kakashi and Itachi walked forward, examining the dead and checking for wounded. Brutus sighed, and his legs began to tremble. He felt the strength ebb from his limbs as the adrenaline wore off. He realized just how tired he really was. Four hours of fighting had drained him both physically and mentally. Still, he sluggishly walked forward, looking for an incapacitated ROOT. He sidestepped clumped bodies and lakes of blood,a sad reminder that the ANBU had paid dearly for this mission.

_Any threat to the village will be met without mercy._ Those had been the last words the ANBU trainers had said to the trainees before their masks were put on. Those words followed ANBU operatives wherever they went; it was the guiding creed to their secret order. But here, beneath the very village they had sworn to protect, their sacrifices boiled down to blood on the rock. Their deaths would be posted, but no one would ever know how they had died. The secrecy of the mission barred any release of details pertaining to their deaths. As Brutus passed an ANBU operative with a sword in his gut, still gasping for air and straining to survive, he couldn't help but sigh. He knelt next to the doomed man, who didn't even register his presence. Brutus grasped the man's shoulder firmly, and that got the ANBU's attention.

Brutus could his his pained gasps growing weaker, and did what any fellow warrior would do in his position: he put the man out of his misery. Muttering a quiet apology, Brutus pushed firmly into the man's collarbone, knocking him unconscious. The ANBU would never wake up, but at least he was at peace. That done, Brutus stood up and continued his pained trek. To his left, Itachi slashed a ROOT's jugular to make sure he was really dead. Up ahead of Brutus, Kakashi was helping a wounded ANBU to his feet. The scene brought back a memory, one that Brutus had seen repeated a thousand times.

A bloodied battlefield. Corpses and wounded soldiers littering the ground, impossible to differentiate the living from the dead because of the pools of blood had long since puddled together. The rancid stink of ruptured intestines and rotting meat permeated the air, leaving one's senses clouded and dull. Weapons of every kind, both broken and whole, lay beside their masters. Everything from a katana to a pair of tiger claws lay on the ground, a thief's wet dream. All together, the weapons strewn across the battlefield would be worth fortunes if sold altogether.

Brutus was so caught up in his morbid observations that he tripped over an unconscious ROOT he had body slammed earlier. Off balance, Brutus stumbled forward, but managed to right himself. He turned around and looked at the man, whose breathing was slow and even. He didn't even know it, but he was the last ROOT in the compound. Itachi and Kakashi had already captured several ROOT, captains included, so there was no reason for the ROOT to live. Feeling the fatigue of the last eight hours weighing down upon him, it wasn't hard to decide to harvest the man.

Brutus knelt down slowly, his legs burning as the lactic acid inside of them surged and concentrated in his thigh muscles and calves. Without any forewarning, Brutus grabbed the man's head, and began drawing on the man's soul. When he had used the mortally wounded man earlier, only a small amount of life force had been available to sustain him. Now, he had a perfectly healthy soul to feed off of, and it would bring him back up to fighting strength. As he concentrated, a bright blue light encased his arm, and a blue pulse of light began running from the ROOT's head into Brutus. He felt his weary muscles ease in relief, and it no longer felt like he had run a marathon. By the time the light subsided, Brutus felt as good as new.

Now rejuvenated, Brutus crossed the battlefield quickly and retrieved Buster from the legs of the unlucky operative that had caught it. He examined his blade, as he did after every battle, and found the usual. No scratches or chips were present on the sword, but it was covered in more than one coating of blood. With a rag and some chemically treated water, the red staining his blade would be gone quickly. Brutus swung it to rid the sword of any liquid blood, then put it onto his back. He watched the eight other ANBU, Itachi and Kakashi ascend the stairway to the exit. They were exhausted, and several of their friends and squad mates had fallen in this battle. But the feeling of victory was in the air, and they walked out proudly. Brutus joined them later, and the ANBU reported to the Hokage at 6:10 AM, just when the village was waking up.

* * *

Naruto had thought time was slower, but it seemed that most of the night had passed before he'd made it out of the Hokage monument with his precious cargo. As such, there wasn't anyone around to notice the Kyuubi brat running to his apartment with a gorgeous woman slung over his shoulder. That would've been hard to explain. He had left a few clones with the Hokage to let him know what he had found, and to let Brutus know whenever he returned from their uber secret mission. That way the swordsman wouldn't kill him for running off with Kiri.

When he reached his apartment building, the landlady had long gone to bed, and wasn't around to harass him about next month's rent. Seriously, who pesters a guy about November's rent at the beginning of October? He slipped inside quietly, careful to shut the door behind him even though he was carrying a full grown woman. He jogged into his bedroom and quickly set Kiri's body down on his bed. There wasn't really any other place to put her; his counter was covered in empty cups of ramen, and his couch had more lumps than the guy that stole Icha Icha Paradise from Kakashi. And that's a lot of lumps.

Naruto looked down at Kiri for a moment, then walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him. She probably appreciated the gesture, but the woman was in his head. Closing a door wouldn't keep her out. He looked over at his counter with a sigh, conscious of the need to clean the place. He was about to throw the ramen cups away when his stomach grumbled. He groaned and rubbed his stomach, realizing how hungry he was.

In a flash of blonde and orange, he was at the cabinet. He opened it eagerly and searched its contents for some more cup ramen. It wasn't hard to find, since there was a huge stack of it, divided up by flavor and expiration date. He grabbed one of the front cups and tore it open. He poured water into it, then threw it into his microwave, setting the time for five minutes. It took fifteen seconds for him to set it up.

While he waited for the ramen to heat up, Naruto looked around his apartment. There were several outfits laying around, so he decided to pick them up. Several pairs of pants and a jacket later, the ramen was done. He threw the clothes into his laundry room and got his food out of the microwave. Without further ado, he grabbed a pair of reusable chopsticks and tore into the ramen with gusto, it being at the perfect temperature: hot.

He finished his meal rather quickly, then swiped all the ramen cups into the garbage. He looked outside, and was astonished to see sunlight beginning to brighten the night sky to the east. A glance at the clock told him he'd been up for twenty one hours. _The night went by so fast! _Naruto thought incredulously. He yawned, and instinctively turned toward his bedroom. He stopped mid-stride, however, when he remembered that his bed was occupied. Even though Kiri was technically in a coma, Naruto still feared what might happen to him if he shared a bed. So, he decided to take the less pleasant, yet safer approach: sleeping on the couch. (Guys, we've been here once or twice, I'm sure)

With a blanket over his legs and his backpack under his head, Naruto laid down on his lumpy couch and zoned out almost immediately. Of course, being awake at five in the morning after escaping a burning underground facility tends to take a lot out of someone.

* * *

Waking up in the mindscape had long lost its novelty. He visited with Kiri whenever he went to sleep. It was both to keep her company and to do something beside dream about ramen. But what he could never figure was what the mindscape represented. He wasn't like Kakashi or Ebisu; his mind wasn't in the gutter. He was pretty sure he was a noble person, so it couldn't represent his heart or soul. _Maybe it looks like my stomach? But that means..._ Naruto almost had a heart attack at the implications. _That means ramen is BAD for me! _As Naruto tried to find his way to Kiri's chamber, the thought nearly sent him into a frenzy. _But how could something so good be bad for me? That's like saying Neil Patrick Harris is gay._ His retarded argument calming his fears, Naruto finally found Kiri, slinging Soul Blaze around like she was slaughtering a bunch of poor shinobi. She even dove and kicked as if she were avoiding blows. It was interesting to watch, not only because of her skill, but because of the sheer genius of her style.

There were no set katas with her. There were merely combos and pieces. She would put those pieces together like syllables in a sentence, making her style extremely flexible and impromptu. Another advantage to the style was that she could always come up with more moves. The key was reading the opponent's moves, then responding with an appropriate combo. If a high strike was coming, she could take them down with a leg sweep followed by a downward slash, or she could roll underneath it and stab them from behind. The most important part was timing and awareness. Once she recognized an attack, she could easily block or dodge around it and perform a counterattack. It was improvisation incarnate, and it looked as deadly as it was useful.

He was so busy marveling at the usefulness of her style that he nearly fell victim to it. Kiri decided to end the mock battle by spinning the sword behind her and hurling it through her last foe. Since he was imaginary, there was no real enemy to catch it, and Naruto caught the blade's pommel right in his nose.

"OOOWWW!" Kiri was snapped out of her training reverie when she heard his cry of pain, and she rushed over to him. Naruto was holding his hands to his nose, cursing and complaining about innocent bystanders and flying swords. She was astounded that he hadn't been cut in half, and her surprise turned to annoyance when his hand came away free of blood. Naruto looked down at his hand, then felt his nose. Instead of a splintered bone, he felt smooth cartilage, as if he had never been hit in the face by a five hundred pound sword in the first place. His griping quickly came to a halt when he realized how much of a pansy he looked like.

"Hehehe... uh... nice throw?" He ventured. He was rewarded with a knock on the head. Naruto groaned and rubbed his noggin, then looked up as Kiri picked up her sword. She leaned it up against the wall and slumped down next to Naruto. He scooted over to allow her appropriate room, and they sat, staring at the expanse that was the mindscape.

"We found your body." Naruto began, unsure how to start the conversation. Kiri didn't look at him, but her content smile didn't leave her face.

"I saw." She said. Of course she had. Besides practice with Soul Blaze, what else could she do besides watch the world go by through his eyes? A world she had been absent from for thirteen years.

Naruto frowned slightly, unsure how to approach his delicate problem. He asked, "When we put you back in your own body, what will happen to me?"

Kiri seemed surprised at the question, and looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty. She had given the subject little thought, since she was so caught up in getting her body back. But now that she did think about it, what were they going to do with him? Once she was gone, his main source of power would leave with her. He would be fighting with his hands tied behind his back, and he would have to learn a whole new style of attack.

Of course, if he came with them, he would be leaving the village for an indefinite period of time. Such a journey would require authorization from the Hokage and a very good reason. It wasn't that she didn't like him; Naruto was the closest thing to a little brother that Kamikirimusi had. But she wasn't entirely sure he was worth the trouble it would cause to take him with them.

"I..." she said hesitantly. "I'm not sure. But that's a long ways away. I won't be leaving for a while." She ruffled his hair playfully, and he chuckled. She looked back up at the sewer that had been her prison for Naruto's entire life.

"When Brutus puts my soul into my body, I'll likely been in a coma for a week or more, until I get used to my body again." Kiri explained. Naruto looked at her in interest. Her fingers twirled in her ponytail idly, without her even realizing it.

"It would be like dancing a dance you haven't done in so long." She said, trying to paint a picture that Naruto could understand. "I'll just have to test out what everything does and get used to my body again. It'll be a week or so until I get all that down pat." Naruto nodded.

"So, until you're bad up to snuff, you won't be going anywhere?" He asked. Kiri shook her head, and Naruto sighed in relief. Kiri cocked a brow in surprise.

"Why? Do you think we'll just up and leave without you?" She asked in surprise. Naruto started, then blushed slightly. He hadn't really thought about it that way. But the prospect of Brutus and Kamikirimusi leaving the village left him... depressed. Kiri had been with him for his entire life, even if he had only known her for a short time. Brutus had also grown on him. The ancient swordsman had a refined, yet dastardly appeal to him. It was like hanging around an old wolf; he wouldn't bother members of the pack, but his interactions with outsiders were... interesting.

"It's not that I regret helping you," he said with a frown. "I just don't want you guys to go and never come back. I..." he couldn't finish. It was difficult explaining this stuff!

To her credit, Kiri didn't laugh. She smiled at his dumbfounded expression. Naruto was so naïve and clueless when it came to social interaction. All his life, he'd wanted attention. He'd pranked and joked and done nearly everything to get people to recognize him. But when they say him, they saw Kiri, and turned away. The few people that did pay attention to him, respected him, and treated him well were the most precious things in the world to him. She and Brutus had accepted him without question, just as Sasuke and Sakura and Kakashi had. Now that they were ready to leave, he was slipping into a melancholy daze.

"Why do you guys have to leave the village, anyways?" He asked with a groan. Kiri's humor at his predicament turned to cold determination at the turn of his question. Her gaze steeled, and she stared ahead as if at some terrible foe.

"When you went in that fortress, I could feel the Soul Edge. It's the reason I don't have my body right now, and it is a _very _evil sword. Since the Soul Edge is still active, we will need all three Immortals to destroy it. It requires knowledge, strength, and speed. Brutus has the knowledge, I have the strength, but Sairubi has always been faster than either of us. Since he uses two swords instead of one big one, he can move at speeds that I can barely match when I put Soul Blaze away." She told him. That damned sword was probably the biggest threat on the continent right now, and the longer it remained, the stronger it got. They had to destroy it quickly, or else a second Dark Age could fall on the world.

"When you're better, where will you go first?" Naruto asked. Might as well get as much out of her while they were talking. She saw the question coming, and and chuckled.

"I won't be going anywhere until Brutus gets back. As soon as he transfers my soul, he will go to Tea Country, where one of our contacts has lived for roughly thirty years." She said. Naruto perked up at this. That meant they would at least stay for a little while longer.

"Who will he be meeting? Is it another immortal person?" Naruto asked eagerly. Kiri shook her head again. Her tail came around, and she wrapped it around the hilt of Soul Blaze.

"No. We've kept in contact with two less-than-human shinobi. One of them is an enenra, a demon made of smoke and vapor. He is a former shinobi of the Lin Kuai, a group of shinobi that were wiped out because of terrible atrocities they had committed. With his power over smoke and flame, he can use any fire light as a kind of security camera. Because of this interesting ability, we've always called him Smoke. He's one to get in touch with if you're looking for someone. Sairubi meets with him every month, or at least he used to." She spun her sword with her tail and stabbed it into the wall beside her, all the way to the hilt. The action startled him, and an itch started irritating his stomach. He scratched the itch, while Kiri used the hilt of her sword to scratch behind her own ears. She almost purred at the feeling; it was a pleasant experience at any time.

"What about the other one? What's he like?" Naruto asked. If she passed out, he'd be stuck in his mindscape until morning. It wasn't like he knew how to get out.

"The other was resurrected by a sorcerer, brought back from Hell to do the sorcerer's bidding. His name is Scorpion, the last of Mist's Shirai Ryu clan. Turns out the sorcerer had also killed Scorpion's family and clan. When Scorpion found out, he dragged the man down to the deepest pits of Hell, where he burns to this day. Quan Chi was the sorcerer's name, and he rots in the Lake of Fire for all eternity." Kiri stopped scratching her head and stretched, arcing her back. Naruto looked ahead, so as to not stare at anything he wasn't supposed to.

"Some say Scorpion is part Uchiha, what with his mastery of fire and his obsession with vengeance. I'm sure Sasuke would benefit from meeting him." Kiri said with a knowing smirk. Naruto looked back at her sharply. _Did she just..._ He glared at the demoness, who was looking at the ceiling innocently.

"I guess you could go too, if you asked your Hokage nicely. I'm sure your lazy sensei wouldn't mind training Sakura for a time. She needs it, anyway." Kamikirimusi had officially made his whole week. Naruto jumped up with a whoop, unaware of the rumbling around them. When he came back down, it was not the watery sewer of the mindscape he landed in, but his living floor. And he landed on his face, not his feet. Above him, a very tired and disheveled Brutus standing over him.

"What?"

* * *

All dead. That was the only thing Captain Kishimaro could think of. His men, the scientists, every member of ROOT but Danzou himself. All dead. Kishimaro limped past another mound of charred corpses. His subordinates lay on top of each other, like a stack of logs. The fire had long since rendered their bodies unrecognizable, just black masses that vaguely resembled a human body.

His bald head was scored with numerous cuts and bruises, signs of his encounter with the son of the White Fang. His face was burned, where he had narrowly dodged a fireball from Itachi Uchiha. His armor was broken and rent everywhere, a reminder of why Brutus of the Red Death had been called such.

The captain looked down where his hand had once been. The Copy Ninja had taken it, as easily as one would swat a fly. Kishimaro sighed in both pain and sadness as he looked around at the ruined base. Crumbling walls, corpses, fire. All of it had happened in a matter of hours, when cultivating this place had taken years. Kishimaro could still remember when Lord Danzou had first handed him his captain's mask and katana. Both of those items were now lost on the battlefield, hidden within the masses of blood and bodies.

_We worked so hard, yet in the end, all we gained was death._ Kishimaro thought with gritted teeth. He stumbled down a small access corridor, his goal just a few paces away. A metal door with the flash mark of an explosives label emblazoned on it. Within that room was a way to give his sacrifice, the loss of his men, a way to at least deny the enemy the spoils of war. He held no illusions now that he was so close to death; the people who had attacked them were fellow villagers, true, but that made them no less of an enemy. He reached the door, and pushed weakly on it. It swung open with a loud groan, the hinges unused for some time. The room inside was dark, yet he knew that each of the numerous crates before him were filled to the brim with explosive tags. He limped through an aisle left by the men who had so painstaking put it all together. He turned a corner in the wall of boxes and found his true target: a seal inscribed onto the very wall. It was circular, and covered in writing and smaller tags that he could and would never understand. Still, he knew what he had to do.

Kishimaro nearly fell as a wave of weakness hit him. He groaned in pain, and his vision swam before him. His head felt light, and the feeling in his toes was almost gone. He was losing blood fast. _But I still have enough to do the job._ He thought resolutely. With a grunt of effort, he half fell, half ran forward, and came up against the wall. He looked down at his stump of an arm, then looked at the middle of the seal. Steeling himself, he slammed the mangled appendage right into the seal, soaking it in his own lifeblood. The pain was excruciating, and he cried out in agony. But the deed was done. Reacting to his blood, white light began to trace the seal.

Kishimaro watched as lines of bright light flowed all around the room, into every box. The seal would ignite everything in one massive explosion, caving in the entire complex and destroying all evidence. It would be a burial for his men. For him. For all their work. The light began to grow, and Kishimaro let one last thought cross his mind before he vanished from the world forever.

_My job is done, Lord Danzou. I can only hope you were proud of us..._

The explosions that rocked the base swept fire throughout like rushing water, vaporizing everything. The earth shook as the force nearly blew the Third Hokage's face off of the monument. Fire sprouted from every secret entrance, shocking nearly every citizen that witnessed the event. The roar of the explosion nearly deafened those close to the monument. After several terrifying moments, everything fell silent. For several years, civilians and shinobi alike would wonder what had happened that day. But the only ones who knew were either eradicated in the blast, or sworn to secrecy forever.

It was a fitting burial for several hundred brave, yet misguided shinobi.

* * *

Holy Christ, that was rolling around in my head for weeks. I just had to get it out. I obviously don't own Mortal Kombat, but those two just begged to see an appearance. That, and without Itachi to blame for then massacre, Sasuke needs some serious tutoring in vengeance. Ciao.


	15. Am I Dead?

I'm just going to start this one off with an omake, as a way of saying sorry for not posting for so long. This story is not dead, though my recent experiences may bring about a bit of a rewrite. Not to change the plot, but to fix some of my early-writer babble. It's almost like Minecraft: I've started the project, but it's not quite aligned like it should be. Some Mr. Fix-It updates will be following along all of my stories in hopes of trimming the fat and turning them into proper narratives. As an added bonus, read the following in Morgan Freeman's voice: titty sprinkles.

* * *

**Omake: Tsunade's Lucky Break**

A darkened street corner outside of some third-rate hotel in Tanzaku Town, a village well known for its gambling districts and vice interests, sits undisturbed. The light from one of the rooms casts what little illumination there is onto the corner, allowing for the woman angrily strutting out of said hotel to find her way.

Tsunade Senju was in a rather ill mood. After three straight losses chasing thin streaks, she had been forced to another corner of Tanzaku Town, this time _without_ a briefcase full of cash in tow. Her assistant Shizune had then removed all traces of sake, the more powerful of Tsunade's two vices, from their shared room. With the only other option on the table was to collapse the hotel and every other building within a hundred meters into a horrid mess, the granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage decided to take a walk.

Said decision eventually led our rather gifted blonde to aforementioned street corner. With most other buildings in the area dark from either abandonment or the owners' decision that three in the morning was time for bed. The strongest kunoichi in the world stopped in her tracks of indignant fury and sighed, her shoulders drooping from the rather imtimidating posture she had used ever since the hotel. Finally out of steam, she leaned up against the concrete wall, crossing her bare arms in what could only be described as an adult pout. She sat there like that for many minutes, waiting for the moment when her rational self would get control and she'd troop back to the hotel for another three hour night's sleep.

_I just KNEW that old hack was cheating me! I should have listened to my gut and knocked him all the way to Kumo!_ Despite her calm exterior, the Senju's anger was still in full swing. Her dark frown and furrowed eyebrows did not go unnoticed by her unknown companion on the lonely street corner of Tanzaku Gai.

"Good evening, madame!" A decidedly foreign accent intoned from her right. Her annoyed visage intensified, but Tsunade just closed her eyes and tried to ignore the man. When she heard footsteps come closer, she cracked one eye to examine the next probable visitor to the morgue.

The man standing before her was an odd one, if looks could be judged. Despite the warm night air of mid July, he was dressed in a long raincoat over a brown striped suit and, curiously enough, white sneakers. His bangs seemed to all curl up into one big rats nest above his brow, a disheveled look completely contrasting with his collared attire and tie. Even so, his odd apparel would doubtfully be the deciding factor in changing his fate should he bug her any longer.

"Bit warm out here for a get up like that, don't you think?" Tsunade growled, a clear warning in her tone instead of her words. Despite her criticism, the man seemed unfazed.

"Yes, well, I encounter all sorts of environments throughout the day. Never know when it might get chilly." The foreign man replied with a cheerful grin. Tsunade had heard rumors of hallucinogenic drugs among the shadier districts of Tanzaku Town, but they rarely went without dilated pupils. The man's pupils were contracted appropriately, though she noticed the curious gleam of his eye.

"Unless you're the fastest shinobi in the Elemental Nations, I doubt that you'd encounter more than two a day." Tsunade snarked. "Now beat it before I beat you."

"Now now, there's no reason for you to get grouchy." The man said with that same grin. The grin that Tsunade was beginning to want to knock into the stratosphere. "I was just wandering around, minding my own business, thought I'd come to visit. Man, this place is spectacular! All the ninja, the energies, the history! It's all simply marvelous!" Seeming to realize that he wasn't alone, he focused on Tsunade once more. "I'm The Doctor, by the way."

_A civilian. And a foreign one at that._ Tsunade's night just kept getting better.

"Doctor who, exactly? As a medic ninja, I'm sure I can tell you the exact remedy for a broken mandible if you stick around." Tsunade unfolded her arms and stood off the wall as she spoke, the threat in her voice very clear. Couldn't this weirdo see she just wanted to be left alone for a time?

"Firstly, it's just The Doctor. I know it sounds pretentious, but it's all you'll get from me. Secondly, I just popped by to speak with the illustrious Tsunade Senju, most well known and powerful kunoichi on the planet." This time, the Doctor winked coyly and crossed his arms. "And I'm quite an expert on this planet." Before Tsunade could send him to another planet, fist class, he held up a finger as if he was forgetting something.

"Hang on a tick, I've got something here for you..." He dug into his pockets, an action that immediately put Tsunade on guard. Civvie or not, he still had the potential to be dangerous. Her caution was invalidated when he procured a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it out to her.

At first, Tsunade was hesitant. But she soon figured she had little to lose and took the paper, her eyes darting from the still grinning Doctor to what appeared to be a lottery ticket.

"This is what you wanted to give me? A lottery ticket? I hope you didn't travel too far, because this seems a little... insignificant."

Her question dimmed the Doctor's vibrant smile a bit, and he shoved his hands into his pockets once more, thumbs out in a stance of anxiousness.

"I'm giving it to you because, well, you need a little luck is all." Even his voice had lowered a bit. Tsunade thought back to everything he'd said prior. Her suspicion was starting to kick in, but before she could ask any more, the Doctor turned on his heel and started walking the way he came.

"When you cash that in, prepare for a visit from an old friend!" He called over his shoulder. Tsunade watched him go and let him disappear around the corner, staring at the ticket in her hand. As his footsteps receded, a sudden whooshing sound caught Tsunade's attention. She rounded the corner quickly, just in time to see a strange blue box slowly fade from existence. Troubled, Tsunade looked down at the ticket one last time, then decided sleep was a _really_ good idea. She pocketed her prize and headed back to the hotel, where an incredulous Shizune would never believe her.

The next day, Tsunade scored the triple jackpot of eight million ryu from the local lottery. As she hauled the cash off to the nearest high stakes casino, she was accosted by some blonde brat and her old teammate, Jiraiya. They explained a lot about what was going on in Konoha, and much of it left her conflicted. But after the resulting fight, a training promise from Naruto, and a long talk with her teammate, Tsunade finally asked Jiraiya about the odd man she'd met last night.

When questioned about the Doctor, Jiraiya got very quiet. He told her he was not normal, even on shinobi standards. But for some reason, whenever the Doctor and his little blue box arrive somewhere, things get _very_ interesting.

* * *

As it turns out, a pretty hot demon in human form was extremely difficult for a thirteen year old ninja to haul from the top of the Hokage monument all the way to his apartment without being seen. As Kiri's lifeless shell rested on the couch, Naruto gasped for breath near the front door, sweat streaming down his face.

"If it wouldn't end in my horrible, most likely excruciating death, I would make a comment about weight here." He heaved between glorious gulps of oxygen. In the back of his mind, Kamikirimusi was growling warnings.

**"Despite your attempt at discretion, I'm so beating your head in for that."** He cringed in spite of his exhaustion, and all of a sudden his bed was the greatest thing in creation. He slowly dragged his tired carcass into his bedroom, not even bothering to remove his sandals. With a contented sigh he fell onto his lumpy twin matress, and all of a sudden things didn't seem so bad.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!_

Then again...

Without rolling over, Naruto called out, "It's unlocked." Normally, a shinobi was always cautious of unexpected visitors. But right now, it could have been a squad of enemy shinobi and Naruto would have allowed them access to the fridge.

The door whined as it swung open on rusty hinges,the heavy thuds of footsteps indicated that whoever his guest was, they were quite large.

"Hey Brutus. How was your mission?" He called sluggishly from his comfy retreat. The giant paladin snorted as the boy's dramatic behavior, but did a double-take when he saw Kiri's body lying on the sofa.

"You found her? How in blazes did you, of all people, find her body in that maze of tunnels and booby traps?" Brutus demanded incredulously, checking over the hibernating shell for any seals or traps. Naruto rolled over and propped up on his elbows to get a good look at Brutus.

"First off, I could take that as an insult. Secondly, I had really good luck since it was a secret door someone had left hanging wide open. But man, was she heavy!" His previous discussion with the female demon completely forgotten, Naruto proceeded to condemn himself by going on at length about Kiri's weight. Brutus shook his head and pressed a palm to his forehead. The boy was clueless, wasn't he?

"Did you ever wonder how she is able to heft Soul Blaze as effortlessly as she has? Demon bones, super dense muscles for super strength, etc. That means she will be heavier than she looks." The elder male lectured his young companion. Naruto nodded in understanding, then a sly grin crossed his face.

"And with those bombs on her front, it's a wonder she doesn't have back problems." The blonde said cheekily. Before Brutus could reprimand him, his male programming kicking in and his eyes flicked toward Kiri's ample bosom for a microsecond. A small, tiny part of him agreed with the apparently suicidal boy, but he had a job to do.

"All joking aside, are you ready to free her? It wouldn't be difficult for me to do, and we only need a few hour at best." Now that they had her body back, the sooner Kiri was whole, the better. Who knew what Nightmare's plan was?

Naruto slid off the bed so that Brutus could put Kiri's body there. Brutus picked up the demoness' empty body and carried it over to the bed.

"So, what do I have to do? Besides sit still and such?" His feigned exhaustion passed long ago; Naruto's always been a bit of an attention whore, you know? Brutus set Kiri down gently, then turned and raised his hand, as if he would place it on Naruto's shoulder.

"What I need you to do..." The chop to Naruto's neck went completely unexpected, and the boy slumped forward in a dead sleep. ".. is let me do my job."

The boy wouldn't have protested. He wouldn't have said no, or done anything to block Kamikirimusi from returning to her former self. But as he placed the young boy next to her, Brutus got the feeling that all he did was dull the oncoming pain.

The giant paladin stripped his armor, leaving him in loose-fitting chainmail covered by a leather shirt and trousers. He rolled out a blank scroll that Naruto had left near his bed, and began writing down runes. Ancient, powerful incantations that would be required for this kind of job. He would need an immensely strong barrier to keep these two souls from escaping their mortal shells. And even if it was only Kiri's, a soul that powerful would cause untold damage on the scale of reality itself. If one of the First Choir were to be unleashed upon the world in such a raw state...

Finished with his transcriptions, Brutus rolled up the scroll and placed it at his feet. As he did, the runes began to glow an ominous red, and a tangible crimson barrier formed around the two unconscious beings, though Brutus could move in and out as he pleased.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. But I couldn't let you remain awake for this." Brutus said softly, though he knew the boy couldn't hear him. "I'll do what I can to make sure you both survive, but you have to stay with me." Brutus grasped the boy's shoulder almost in grave submission, but then set about his grim task.

He reached forward with a purpose; his bare hands careful yet firm in their movements. He parted Naruto's jacket and raised the boy's shirt so that the seal was visible, its swirling design glaring back at him as if in defiance. Brutus studied the seal carefully, the set his face to stone. This would be tricky.

Slowly, carefully, Brutus reached for Naruto's stomach, his hands taking on a shimmer of bright blue light. When he touched Naruto, his hands began to pass into the young shinobi's body, into the seal where Kamikirimusi was imprisoned. And just when he found the first of several barriers – nine, to be exact – Naruto began to scream, a wail of mortal agony as his soul, his very being, was being manipulated at the hands of the Red Death. Brutus winced as Naruto's screams took on new volume as he delved deeper, searching each barrier for a weakness and exploiting it. As he worked, he could feel the young ninja's life force flaring brightly, but he knew it was only a matter of time before it was snuffed out like a candle flame. Keeping that in mind, Brutus worked quickly and thoroughly, hoping to save the lives of Kiri and her new protege.

* * *

Zabuza left his apartment with a small smile of his face that morning. Anko's ideas had at first been silly, but her demeanor had changed once Zabuza had relayed to her the story of how he and Haku had defected from the Mist. He had told her of the constant running, always cautious, the long and sleepless nights they had spent evading the Hunter Corps. He told her of the lessons he had imparted upon Haku, lessons both as a shinobi and as a man. At first, he had done it out of necessity; he had needed Haku well versed in combat, logic, and subterfuge if they were to survive their rebellion. But later on, as if by nature itself, he had slowly began including other, nonessential topics. He included history, a scant bit of literature. The Demon of the Bloody Mist had even attempted to teach Haku how to cook at one point, though the young man had embarrassed him by showing more proficiency in the craft than Zabuza himself.

When he told Anko of their fateful meeting with Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura in the Land of Wave, he had choked up when he remembered Haku's final word. It had been his name. And he had just relegated the boy to a tool. The months spent recuperating, healing at his own pace without use of his arms, were nothing compared to the hole in his heart created by Haku's death. He had wallowed in self-induced agony, his own greed and hatred of the Mizukage bringing about one of the few people he had ever cared for.

When he had told Anko this much, she had worked with him over night to creat a special case, one she had summoned a snake to fetch the materials for. The result: a lot of sake bottles scattered around, and a polished pine wood box with a thin glass covering, the center of which help a bronze plate emblazoned with the symbol of Konoha. They put the box together, though where she had procured the top Anko had never said. As such, the fragmented pieces of Haku's mask now sat above Zabuza's bed, a memento to his first student.

Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, he continued his light run toward Wave, Kubikiri Houcho slung on his back. His new Leaf vest felt a bit stiff still, but he had removed most of the plates on the sides that were near his arms, and he had fashioned an almost professional sling for his large blade. And though he was sure Kakashi would give him grief the next time Zabuza saw him, the former Mist nin had also put thick leather padding over his shoulders, blocking the exact points Kakashi had immobilized him with earlier. The scars still lurked beneath the protective material, but he was more concerned about the lesson he had learned from them.

Zabuza had also noticed an odd amount of clothing and sake bottles strewn about his apartment, yet he couldn't recall ever getting undressed. In fact, all the clothes had been female...

Zabuza's concentration slipped for a split second as memories came back to him, sending him crashing to the dirt road with a nosebleed trail the whole way. A single image stood out vividly in his memory. One of Anko clad in only a white towel, tucked under his arm... As the fearsome Demon of the Bloody Mist pulled his face out of the dirt, a memory of helping a drunk Anko to his shower resurfaced.

_"Aw, naughty Zabu! Hoping to catch a look while you help poor little Anko to the shower?"_

Another gout of blood stained his face bandages, and Zabuza pointed removed the image from his mind. He was up, off the ground, and gone before anyone noticed Konoha's newest swordsman lying in the dust.

_I was just helping her, I was just helping her, I was just helping her..._

Zabuza desperately repeated the mantra in his head the whole way to the bridge. Who would even believe that he would do anything special with a girl like Anko Mitarashi anyway?

* * *

After his briefing with the Hokage, and a rather odd meeting with Anko leaving one of the new apartment buildings, (complaining about someone named Zabu leaving before she woke up) all Kakashi wanted to do was take a nap while reading his favorite book. Of course, fate and his prodigal student had other plans.

"Kakashi." The normal, laid back tone of Sasuke Uchiha reached the jounin's tired ears, and he slowly rolled his eye to focus on his student.

"Eh?" Kakashi said tiredly. "Is there something I can help you with, Sasuke? I kinda just got back from a mission, you know..." He wasn't _trying_ to blow Sasuke off like that, but by Kami he had just taken down all of ROOT with only a few ANBU and a paladin at his side.

"I know. It was the one Itachi went on too. It must have been rough, since you're both exhausted." Wow, sympathy coming from Sasuke? Kakashi cast a quick glance up to the sky to make sure it wasn't falling. Alas, it was still in its natural place.

"What I wanted to know was, have you seen Naruto? I was going to see of he wanted to spar. He still hasn't been able to beat me in taijutsu yet." Sasuke said with a smirk. Kakashi sighed heavily. He HAD seen Naruto, that was the problem. From what Brutus had said prior to leaving the Hokage tower, it sounded like Naruto wasn't exactly going to be in a sparring mood.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I don't think Naruto's going to be able to spar today." Kakashi said with a wince. "He and Brutus are messing around with some seals. I think he's gonna be... indisposed for quite some time. Maybe tomorrow, eh?" Sasuke took the information well, he just shrugged and started to walk off.

"Alright, whatever. Let the loser know I want to fight him when he gets done. I'd hate for my _rival_ to be getting soft." And with that, he was gone.

Kakashi couldn't stop the facepalm that was coming. Of all the times for Sasuke to treat Naruto like an equal, it had to be when the boy was in danger of dying. No one ever said Uchiha had impeccable timing, and now Kakashi had a good idea why. That, and Itachi's gift of Icha Icha Paradise Collector's Edition right when he had started dating that sweet girl from the dango shop. The look in Kakashi's eye had been _murderous._

But at least the boy was off doing something constructive. Or training, or whatever. At this point, Kakashi didn't care. He was headed to bed. The door to his apartment was extremely heavy, but he opened and closed it with some effort. Gods, he was _tired_. He was pretty sure he'd seen Itachi slumped up against a trash bin at Ichiraku. Teuchi and Ayame had thrown a blanket over him and let him stay there.

Kakashi had his ANBU mask and weapons off and in their normal places near his door in seconds, and was a few disrobes and a jump away from his comfortable bed. Before he could even get his shirt off, however, he was greeted with a rather sobering sight: The Sandaime Hokage sitting in his living room, leafing through one of the many books Kakashi stored on his shelves. To say that Kakashi was a little peeved would be accurate. Sure, he had the _Hokage_ of all people in his living room, but that usually meant there was a job to do. And with Kakashi as exhausted as he was, this would probably be... troublesome.

Somewhere else in the village, Shikamaru sneezed loudly.

"Lord Hokage? What brings you here?" Kakashi tried to sound formal and respectful, but...goddammit...

To his credit, Sarutobi took Kakashi's tired and somewhat gruff greeting in stride, smiling around his unlit pipe as he closed the book and set it back on the table next to Kakashi's couch. The old man motioned to the lazy chair across from him, which Kakashi sat in immediately. The jounin fought the powerful urge to kick his feet up as he waited for Sarutobi to explain himself. Man, he was grumpy, wasn't he?

"I know I've dismissed you for a day of rest, Kakashi, but there is an urgent matter I must speak to you about." The elderly ninja said.

"Well, I'll help however I can, sir." And fight off that sleep he was looking forward to.

"You fought alongside Brutus, and you've spoken to him more than any other Leaf shinobi I have under my command. In all cases, you are the most knowledgeable person on the matter. My question is this: are Brutus and the Kyuu- er, _Kamikirimusi_ a threat to us?"

Kakashi stifled the groan that nearly escaped his lips. THAT was what the Hokage was worried about? Frankly, he'd turned the idea over in his head quite often. He'd listened to Naruto's side of it as well.

"Naruto seems to have taken to Brutus, and Sasuke knows him somewhat as well. They both sense no ill will from him." Kakashi offered. Sarutobi's neutral expression turned to a frown at that.

"I know that they can be good judges of character, Kakashi, but this man is centuries old. _Centuries. _I'm sure he's fooled his way into and out of trouble before. I'll ask again, Kakashi: are they a threat?"

A sigh escaped Kakashi this time. The truth of it was, he didn't really know. He'd fought with Brutus both in the Land of Snow and within the Hokage Monument. The man certainly cleaned house, but he'd tossed a few favors toward Kakashi and Itachi, as well as the other ANBU. When he'd talked with Brutus in Snow, the man had been very forthright with his intentions. This was possible part honesty and part arrogance; Brutus knew he could wipe the floor with most shinobi. Kakashi wasn't necessarily most shinobi, but there was room for caution.

"He saved Itachi and I some trouble with ROOT. In the Land of Snow, he could have very easily kidnapped Naruto and left us to our fate, but he didn't. And from what I can tell about Kamikirimusi, she isn't all that bad either. Brutus is a decent individual, and he considers her his best friend. She's been in Naruto's head for almost fourteen years, and he isn't a homicidal wreck. I think we can at least be sure they won't attack us. Beyond that... I don't know." Kakashi explained truthfully. He didn't let on the third member of Brutus' little team, as an unknown wouldn't really help his case.

Sarutobi nodded, absorbing the information and filing it away for thought later.

"I had gathered as much, but after what he said to Ibiki and I, doubts were beginning to form. I know you're tired, Kakashi, but I would like for you to keep an eye on them."

Kakashi grimaced at the new workload, but accepted his new assignment with a nod.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. If I heard right, I'd say they were unsealing Kamikirimusi today, actually. At least," he said worriedly, pointed out the window at Naruto's apartment, where red light was shining faintly from within, "I hope that's what is going on."

Sarutobi's old eyes widened considerably when he saw the red light. He quickly stowed his pipe within his robes as he stood up, moving as quickly as courtesy would allow. Despite his stiff adherence to protocol and what-not, Kakashi did not follow his superior to the door. The old man could let himself out. Kakashi had a bed and twelve hours of free time.

* * *

The darkness he found himself in was an empty, silent place. Naruto drifted in oblivion, his perception dimmed and the world around him silent. He floated in his forced stasis for what seemed like ages, unable to think, unable to move. All he could do was exist.

But in the darkness, something stirred. Naruto focused on that presence, the feeling that there was _something_ else. He could barely sense it, skulking about in the dark, but he knew it was there.

_What is it?_ He wondered, his mind grasping at every thought like an oiled marble. He could feel the thing moving about, but his eyes failed him. Soon enough, however, he could no longer sense it.

Then, off in the distance, he could faintly hear a voice. It was low, baritone and far away, but he could hear it. Naruto concentrated, trying to determine just what was going on. As he focused on the man's voice – for it was a male voice – he came to realize that it was Brutus' voice, chanting the same mantra of foreign words over and over again.

_Asaroth Vitalis Ponderis... Asaroth Vitalis Ponderis... Asaroth Vitalis Ponderis..._

Over and over, the words repeated in Naruto's head. They got louder and louder, as if they were no longer in his head but all around him. He almost got annoyed with it, until he realized that, with every verse, his thinking became clearer, and he could move easier.

His feeling of weightlessness decided to end right there, and he sudden felt like he was falling. As Brutus' mantra increased in volume, a small amount of light appeared from... somewhere. Since up was generally the source of light, and he was looking down on it, then that meant...

THUMP! The blonde jinchuriki hit the ground, the surprise knocking the wind out of him. Groaning, he stood up, rolling his neck. Now that he could see (somewhat) he decided to look around.

Unlike the usual forays he made to the seal, the dank, damp sewer was gone. He found he was not standing in water, but rather on dry, cracked earth. It was almost as if he was standing in the place of a one hundred year drought, the ground was so brittle and hard. He looked around, but all he could see was desolate ground about thirty meters to all sides. Deciding to explore, he took a few steps in a random directions, dust clouding around his feet as he went. The light that hung above him followed, like a streetlight constantly hovering over him.

"Hello?" He called out. His voice echoed oddly, like he was in a great cave. Only the reverberations of his own voice answered his call. With nothing left to do, Naruto decided to do what Kakashi was always on to him about: sit and think.

Finding a seat on the dry, cracked ground, he immediately assumed the Lotus position, resting his chin on his hand. He started with what he knew: this was not his apartment. When Brutus had knocked him out (the ass), He'd been in the dead center of Konoha, far away from any place even remotely like where he was now.

Another thing he knew was that he was not in the seal. At least, not in the way he was used to. The absence of walls and pipes and, well, _angst_ was a welcome change, although he couldn't say Death Desert was any better.

To his left, a breath of wind sttirred, breaking the silence. Naruto jerked his head to look, and caught the faintest glimpse of something white off in the distance, like someone was waving a thin sheet in the air. Standing, he made to follow, but was stopped by a booming voice, as if Kami him/herself was speaking to him.

_I wouldn't do that, boy._ It was Brutus! Naruto looked up toward the dim light, noticing that Brutus' chanting had stopped a few seconds ago. Slightly embarrassed for not noticing that sooner, he called out.

"Hey! Why'd you knock me out? I told you I'd help you unseal Kiri, didn't I?" He said angrily. His voice carried out over the dark dead lands. Another ghost of wind, and movement out of the corner of his eye. Naruto turned around, but there was nothing there. _Alright_, he thought to himself, _this is getting a little creepy._

_Yes, you said you would help,_ Brutus said gruffly, _but this isn't like handing over a contract or something like that. The Fourth Hokage's seal is keeping Kiri within your body, boy. We have to __circumvent that._

"So, where am I now? This doesn't feel like my normal visits to the seal." He said nervously. More gusts of wind, two this time. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he spun, trying to catch a glimpse of WHAT was out there.

_Your Hokage was good. Too good for me to manipulate the seal alone. So I studied it, and found a loophole: it only affects your body._

"Can you go ahead and dumb it down, things are getting creepy here." Naruto said as he spun again, this time catching a glimpse of what looked like a man, or something humanoid, draped in thin white sheets. The sight was gone before he could be sure, but he kept his guard up.

_Well, it was simple. I pulled your soul out of your body. Normally, Kiri's soul would try to take your soul's place and the seal would kill your body and thus, her. I scooped her out too, avoiding this little confrontation altogether._ The paladin sounded pleased with himself. _Now, however, we have a different problem. When a soul has nowhere to go, it floats aimlessly into the ether, doomed to be lost and wander forever._

"Do they turn into creepy looking ghosts and stalk you?" Naruto asked as his eyes darted around the edges of his circle of light. Suddenly, thirty meters wasn't enough. "Because I think I'm not alone out here."

_Oh, rest assured; I've got you. I grabbed hold of your soul, but Kiri's is different. A demon's soul can be a slippery thing once freed. She drifted off, so I'll need you to find her._

Somehow, that wasn't as reassuring as Naruto thought the answer would be. He inched forward, his beacon of light following. As the light moved, three ghouls came into the light, and he saw them for what they were: skeletal beings, skin barely covering their bones while gray, sunken eyes stared out at him, unblinking. Their frail forms were covered by thin cloaks of white material, holed and ghastly in appearance as it waved in a nonexistent wind. Just as he saw them, they withdrew quickly, hisses coming from Kami-knows-where.

"Yep, definitely not alone here, Brutus!" He cried, settling into his basic defense stance. Crossing his fingers, he tried to pull out his favorite technique, the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but nothing happened. He couldn't feel his chakra! _Great. Just WONDERFUL._ He thought sardonically.

_No worries, boy. The ghosts can't touch you so long as I have hold of you. You are on a different plane of existence. You can see them, and they can see you, but that is about as much contact as you can have. Now, is it dark there?_

"Yeah, really dark! It's like Sasuke's sense of humor down here." Naruto said, kicking himself for such a lame joke. Of course it wasn't THAT dark...

_I'll try to expand my presence, give you some light. We must find Kamikirimusi while I can still protect you._

As he said this, the light above Naruto went from dim streetlight to blinding sun so quickly, Naruto was blinded for a second. He recovered quickly, however, and discovered he was not the only one stunned. The circle of light had spread out to about three hundred meters, and all around him, in one big cloud of ghastly white, were the ghouls of the Ether. They shrieked at the blinding light, fleeing for the safety of their eternal darkness. Their various forms sickened Naruto, seeing men, women, and – as a small form fled into the distance – children that simply floated in eternal purgatory, fleeing the light. It was more than a little disturbing.

_There, that should do it. Although now you have a bit of time constraint. That burst of energy probably alerted a few of your village officials. If they try to stop me, well... you'll lose your light, for starters._

"Hurry up and find Kiri before I get mobbed by the ghosties; got it!" He said loudly, dashing off toward where he had seen many of the spirits flee. He was faster than them, that was for sure; every step he took brought more into the light. They shied away from his blinding light, yet lurked the edges like wolves circling a camp fire.

"Uh, Brutus!" He called as he ran. "What happens if the light goes out and these things get me?" He nearly tripped over a large stone, something that had not been around previously. He was heading somewhere.

_You become one of them, lad. They'll suck the energy right out of you until you are just like them. A fate Kiri is immune to; any who touch her spirit will immediately be devoured. It's just her nature._

"Good to know. Is there a reason they are all running in one direction? I'm following them, but...still..."

_Aye, you are traveling far. Every step you take in there is a mile out here, technically. The earth exacts quite a toll on travel as a flesh and blood human being, but spirits roam wide. You are heading to a Nexus; the closest one would be Constantinople, or Istanbul as it is called now._

"Why there?" He hopped over a crumbling rock wall, it's red material perplexing him. He couldn't afford to stop and examine it though. Up ahead, he could see faint shapes outlined by his light.

_Nexuses are always formed when there is a great amount of death over an extended period of time. Constantinople has always been an area of bloodshed. The Turks, the Christians, the Ottoman Empire; so much death from so many people. There are roughly eight main Nexuses around the world. Three in Europe, three in Asia, one on the Atlantic, and another in the Pacific._

" How do you know so much about this? I mean, I know you've been around and all, but this seems like a lot of stuff no one has heard." Up ahead, the looming shapes became buildings: mosques, churches, and temples. Buildings of faith sitting beside each other, all in various states of ruin.

_Because I travel these ways sometimes. The Nexus over Istanbul – where you are going – gave me some trouble a few years back. An enemy of mine, a necromancer, kept summoning souls from that Nexus. Just skeletons armed with axes and shields, but an army of them was still a threat._

"Well, at least you won. What are all these buildings doing here?" He stopped his perpetual sprint, slowing to a jog as he caught his breath. He stopped in front of a Buddhist temple, ethereal ghosts haunting its columns and arches like they had in life.

_Each faith had its own paradise, its own end game. Those souls reside in these containers until they are collected by their prospective deities._

Naruto looked up at another, this one a Christian church, and saw its dilapidated and broken state. It looked ready to collapse in on itself. It's cross had fallen to the culvert, the roof was nearly gone, and the doors hung on single hinges. Unlike the others, where there were many souls within, this one stood empty.

"Why is this one all beat up and empty?" He asked, jogging past it as he encountered more buildings. Now, the ghosts were not fleeing his light. They just ignored him completely now, ambling around forever.

_Some churches and faiths were man-made. Not the entire religion, but a sect here and there were created as one man's means to an end. They were doomed to roam, their gods unable to reclaim them. Such is the price of betrayal._

"That's sad, really. What if they didn't know their religion was a sham? How do you damn the ones who don't know any better?" The surrounding area started pulsing, almost. There was energy here, a presence that seemed to drawn everything deeper into the city of death. Naruto's head began to pound, but he shook it and kept going deeper.

_A tale for another time. You should find Kiri; she'll be in the center of the city, within the Nexus Prime._

He had all these names and explanations, but couldn't hold on to one demon soul? Naruto rolled his eyes at his luck. He picked up his pace, the ghosts becoming more numerous, the buildings in better shape. He could feel the pulse of this land. It was corrupt, it felt wrong. He knew he wasn't supposed to be there. The ghosts around him were slowly marching in the same direction. As he passed one, its eyes lingered on him for a second. He stiffened as its undying gaze passed across him, but he was gone before he could study it properly. As he looked around, he noticed that they were all glancing at him every now and then. As if he were beginning to spark their interest.

"Brutus, these ghosts are looking at me. Not staring, but I think they're getting the idea that I'm here." He said, not letting the apprehension creep into his voice.

_The further you go, the farther I have to reach to protect you. By the time you reach the center, I may only be able to give you light._

There wasn't an ounce of apology in his voice.

"You waited until NOW to tell me!" The boy said in outrage. He stopped running to continue the conversation, but then he saw a strange thing.

In the center of the city, a large temple stood, larger than the ones surrounding him. It was pretty much a huge staircase, but at the top was swirling vortex, purple and black as it spun slowly. As he neared it, he noticed that no ghosts would approach it. They ringing around it, keeping their distance from the... portal? He had no time to ask what it was, as he saw what he had run all this way for.

Standing next to the portal, hair flying in a breeze generated by the swirling portal, was Kamikirimusi. Her back was to him, apparently staring into the depths of the portal. He ran forward, taking the steps three at a time.

"Kiri! Hey, KIRI!" He yelled, glad to at least see someone he knew. Surprisingly, she didn't turn. He began to get a feeling in his gut; something wasn't right. She wasn't responding at all. When he reached the top, he had to plant himself to keep from being sucked into the portal. Inside of it, he could hear howling, like a gale of wind.

"Hey, Kiri! Come on, we gotta...get..." He stared at the demoness, and she slowly turned toward him, her hair flying about. But her eyes were not the normal crimson. Instead, both of them were solid yellow, with no pupil of sclera to be found. Her mouth curled into a predatory grin, pointed teeth protruding from her lip.

**"Hello boy. Long time no see, eh?"** The voice that came from her mouth was not Kiri's. It held too much malice, too much hatred. He frowned and took a step toward her.

"What are you doing? We've gotta go!" He moved to take her hand, but the extension of claws stopped him. He barely jumped back in time before her swipe eviscerated him.

**"Oh no, I'm not leaving just yet. Not with all these delicious souls to feed on."** Her teeth shone in the light of Naruto's beacon, and her smile bore no warmth. He stiffened, then looked up at his light.

"Brutus! A little help!" He didn't like the looks of this. She looked exactly like she had the night she had attacked his village.

_I can't help you boy. I've got company. You'll have to drag her out of the city. Now hurry up! Your Hokage thinks-_ He was cut off mid-sentence. Naruto's eyes fell to Kiri, only to see her licking her lips hungrily, eyeing him like a fox eyes a rabbit. He held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Alright now, let's not get hasty. It's me, Kiri! Remember me? I'm Naruto!" His words fell on deaf ears, as she slowly stalked toward him, arms at her sides with claws extended. Suddenly, the portal next to him flared up, fire boiling inside. It took the attention of both of them, staring into the roiling flames. Out of the flames, a purple ball came up to frame the portal, wreathed in fire. A line traced down the middle of it, bisecting the purple ball vertically. All of a sudden, the split widened to encompass the entire ball. Only it wasn't a ball; it was an _eye_. Colored dusky orange, and with a slitted pupil, the eye rolled around in its imaginary socket, glancing at the city, then Kiri, before finally settling on him.

A dreadful chuckle echoed throughout the area, and then a malicious, evil voice, deep and rumbling, echoed from the eye.

**"FOOLISH BOY."**

* * *

Aaaaaand cliff hanger!


End file.
